Premier Li Keqiang has pledged to continue existing preferential policies, including tax reductions, for Taiwan-invested companies to help them counteract a business recession brought about by the slowdown of the mainland economy and economic restructuring.

Even though the mainland is carrying out a campaign to rationalize arbitrary preferential policies offered by local governments to attract investment, Premier Li assured Taiwan corporate leaders on April 22 that policies included in existing contracts with Taiwan businesses will not be affected.

“That is because we are like brothers and sisters in a family,” he said at a seminar with 11 Taiwan business leaders investing in Fujian, the mainland province closest to the island.

Michael Chiang, president of TPK Touch Solutions Inc, a leading touch screen manufacturer, said his company has been increasingly challenged by the “headache” of labor shortages and infringement of intellectual property rights, an issue that “hurts his heart most”.

Premier Li said the protection of intellectual property rights plays a vital part in the mainland’s efforts to encourage industrial growth, and that protection should cover Taiwan businesses. “We cannot let business leaders suffer from heartburn in addition to headache,” he said.

The premier also exuded confidence in the Chinese economy, saying it still has resilience and room for maneuver, and a broad range of policy tools are at his disposal. “Room for further reforms is large and the market potential is yet to be realized,” he said.