Taiwan businesspeople eye greater development in mainland market

XIAMEN -- At the 15th Straits Forum on Saturday, Taiwan businesspeople expressed a stronger willingness to do business on the Chinese mainland, as the mainland continues to promote goodwill through economic and cultural exchanges across the Taiwan Strait.

The forum was jointly held by the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, Fujian provincial government and 82 institutions and organizations from across the Strait. It opened on Friday in the coastal city of Xiamen, with the main conference taking place on Saturday.

This year's forum attracted over 5,000 guests from Taiwan, including many businesspeople, with economic exchanges set as the main theme of the event.

"The development of the mainland brings the greatest opportunity for all Chinese people, including Taiwan compatriots," renowned economist Lin Yifu said at the event.

Wu Chia-ying, executive vice president of the Association of Taiwan Investment Enterprises on the Mainland, said there is great potential for Taiwan businesspeople in exploring areas such as new energy, new materials, and high-end manufacturing in the mainland.

"With new opportunities, Taiwan businesspeople should work together to continue playing a role in promoting economic and cultural exchanges across the Strait," Wu said.

Lee Ming-kuei, also executive vice president of ATIEM, said that from 2012 to 2022, the number of investment projects launched by Taiwan businesspeople on the mainland increased from 88,000 to 129,700, while the actual utilization of Taiwan investment on the mainland increased from 57.05 billion to 72 billion U.S. dollars.

Lee added that 60 Taiwanese-funded enterprises have been listed in the mainland capital market.

Xiamen Xin Hee Co Ltd is one of them. Three years ago, the clothing manufacturer completed a full-scale digital transformation, and launched an intelligent factory and an innovative warehousing and logistics center.

"After the center's system receives the order, it only takes three minutes for the products to leave the warehouse," said Zhu Xiaofeng, vice president of the company, adding that the digital upgrade has significantly improved the operation of the supply chain.

"Consumption upgrading on the mainland will unleash great market vitality. We are very confident that domestic high-end brands will enter a period of prosperity," Zhu said.

More Taiwan enterprises are leveraging their own advantages and accelerating integration into the emerging industry chains and the vast market on the mainland, which also boasts a favorable business environment.

TPV Display Technology (Xiamen) Co Ltd, a major Taiwan-funded enterprise, is eyeing greater development in the new sector of commercial displays.

"The construction of digital China on the mainland is a tremendous opportunity for our company," said Chen Peiwen, general manager of TPV Display Technology, adding that the company will focus on developing the software ecology in an effort to gain greater presence in the market.

"Taiwan enterprises will have great potential for further development if they closely follow the industrial trends on the mainland and accelerate their integration into the emerging industry supply chains," Chen said.