Cross-Straits service sector pact called for

Mainland and Taiwan authorities should promote the implementation of an agreement aimed at opening the service sector market, a mainland official said on Tuesday.

Chen Deming, president of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits, said opening up service sectors will benefit enterprises on the mainland and Taiwan.

Chen made the remarks during a meeting with a visiting delegation headed by Lin Join-sane, chairman of the Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation.

"Just now, I asked a beautiful reporter whether her hairstyle was done on the mainland or Taiwan, and she told me that it was done in Taiwan," he said. "According to the agreement we made in June, the Taiwan hairdressing market is open to the mainland, and the market of the mainland's 1.3 billion heads is also available to Taiwan's hair salons."

Chen said he has a great interest in Taiwan's print and hairdressing industries, and he hopes the agreement will bring a "win-win" result for both sides.

On June 20, Chen met with a visiting SEF delegation headed by Lin in Shanghai and the two sides signed a service trade agreement the next day. According to the agreement, the mainland will open 80 service sectors to Taiwan, while Taiwan will open 64 sectors to the mainland.

The sectors mentioned in the agreement include those related to commerce, telecoms, construction, environment, health, tourism, entertainment, culture, sports, transportation and finance.

Lin said on Tuesday that Taiwan authorities and local media have already explained the agreement to the public, and more hearings will be staged to further promote it.

Chen Xiancai, a professor at the Taiwan Research Institute of Xiamen University, said small and medium-sized enterprises as well as the public will benefit from the opening of service sectors.

"The mainland has a vast market of 1.3 billion people, while the Taiwan companies have more advanced management and technologies," he said.

The delegation, composed of senior managers from Taiwan media giants such as TVBS, visited China Central Television on Tuesday afternoon.

It is also scheduled to visit the General Administration of Press, Publication, Radio and Television during the six-day trip.

The delegation will also attend the opening ceremony for the 12th plenary session of "Taiwan Week" in Jinzhou, Liaoning province, on Thursday.

Chen spoke highly of Taiwan's media for promoting mutual trust across the Taiwan Straits, and said he hopes they will continue to report and explain the mainland's policies to their readers.

"I read about four or five Taiwan newspapers every day," he said, adding that media communication will benefit both sides.

Cross-Straits ties have been enhanced in recent years along with increasing exchanges of people and political parties.

During a forum on trade and culture in Jiangxi province, mainland and Taiwan participants signed 75 cooperation deals on Tuesday, with investment of $3.94 billion, Xinhua News Agency reported.

"Strengthening economic cooperation is in line with the common interests of compatriots from both sides," Zhang Zhijun, minister of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said during the forum.

Nineteen trade and economic agreements have been reached between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits since 2008, and they have largely boosted cross-Straits relations, Zhang said.