CHINA / Cross-Straits Biz
Trade zone proposed on Taiwan Straits shore
By Fu Jing (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-03-08 05:55
China will develop the region opposite Taiwan Province into another
economic hub that can compete with the Yangtze and Pearl river deltas.
Local officials from East China's Fujian Province said they have prepared
a proposal for a free-trade zone in Xiamen, for example, to realize the
central government's scheme of building the Western Shore Economic Zone
of the Taiwan Straits.
The scheme was written into the draft of the nation's 11th Five-Year Plan
(2006-10), currently under discussion by the National People's Congress
(NPC) deputies.
"I believe it is a pure-hearted gesture for our highest leadership to
push peaceful reunification forward," said Lu Zhangong, head of Fujian
Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China.
The move comes as Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian has been pursuing a more
radical secessionist path aimed at "independence" after his decision to
scrap the island's council that deals with unification issues with the
mainland.
"We are putting forth our best efforts to realize peace and stability
across the Straits but we including myself are well prepared to go to the
front line if our goodwill efforts fail," Lu told a group discussion on
the 11th Five-Year Plan.
President Hu Jintao, in showing his support for the new economic zone,
said China welcomes more Taiwan residents to do business with the
mainland during his recent tour of Xiamen.
Urban cluster
According to Lu, the western shore development plan is part of the
country's regional development strategy for coastal China, where the
Pearl River Delta in the south, the Yangtze River Delta in the east and
economic zone around the Bohai Sea have already become development
engines.
Compared with those economic zones, the region in Fujian Province,
immediately opposite the straits from Taiwan, has fallen behind in recent
years. "I think building the Western Shore Economic Zone is just a start
and the messages between the lines are clear that there will be an
economic zone across the Straits to boost China's further development,"
Lu said.
An urban cluster featuring Fuzhou, Xiamen and Quanzhou will be designed
in the province to boost its urbanization, he said.
"But the western shore scheme is not just the business of Fujian," said
Lu, adding that East China's Jiangxi Province, for example, will also be
involved in the development plan.
Lu also said that the entire province is prepared to become an investment
destination for Taiwan residents soon even though only four cities in
Fujian are open to Taiwan investors currently.
Zhang Changping, mayor of Xiamen, the most developed coastal city
opposite Taiwan, said yesterday that he is trying hard to include Xiamen
on the central government's list of free-trade ports.
The mayor said the central government has been preparing to turn
Shenzhen, Shanghai and Tianjin into free-trade zones to facilitate
economic activity with the rest of the world.
"I'm suggesting that Xiamen should become a free-trade zone with Taiwan,"
Zhang said, "and we are going to seek approval from the central
government."
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