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Straits zone will rival deltas
By Wang Zhenghua (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-09-08 08:50
The economic zone on the western coast of the Taiwan Straits is expected to
become an economic hub big enough to compete with the Pearl and Yangtze river
deltas, China's most important economic powerhouses.
Officials and
scholars attending the First Forum on the Economic Zone on the Western Coast of
the Taiwan Straits yesterday formally unveiled the concept for the new economic
zone, which they expect to be a shinning star among the nation's regional
economic clusters. An important step towards building a cross-Straits economic
region connecting the Chinese mainland and Taiwan Province, the economic area
will have a fundamental influence on future co-operation, participants
said.
World
Trade Organization chief Pascal Lamy (centre) at the First Forum on the
Economic Zone on the Western Coast of the Taiwan Straits, which began in
Xiamen, East China's Fujian Province, yesterday. The forum, sponsored by
the Fujian municipal government, is the first of its kind and comes in the
lead-up to the 10th China International Fair for Investment and Trade.
[China Daily] |
The forum, the first of its
kind and coming ahead of the 10th China International Fair for Investment and
Trade, offers the four World Trade Organization (WTO) players in China the
mainland, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan an unprecedented platform to discuss trade
and investment issues within the one-China framework.
Located opposite
Taiwan Province, the economic zone refers to the area that lies west of the
Taiwan Straits, centred on East China's Fujian Province, but also covering
surrounding areas.
It is right at the juncture of China's economically
most developed areas, with the Yangtze River Delta to its north and Pearl River
Delta to its south. It is also one of China's major windows to the Asia-Pacific
region.
"The west-coast economic zone is a new area on the map of
regional economy integration," said Long Yongtu, secretary-general of the Boao
Forum for Asia.
"Even though the concept was proposed only two years ago,
it has won widespread consensus," said Long.
He said the zone was a
significant step towards a cross-Straits economic zone, and an important stage
for future co-operation in the regional economy.
Pascal Lamy,
director-general of the WTO who gave a speech at yesterday's forum, sees the
potential and benefit of strengthening economic and investment links between the
two sides of the Taiwan Straits.
"It's not difficult to see how close
Fujian Province is to Chinese Taipei," he said. "You share cultural and
historical ties, and you speak the same language."
But Fujian Province
has plenty of natural resources, a large labour force and a supportive
government policy, while Taiwan enjoys advantages of capital, technology and
management skills, he said.
With a strengthening economic link between
the two sides last year, Lamy said he was looking forward to seeing more trade,
investment, exchanges and economic dialogue between the mainland and Taiwan in
the future.
(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)
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