Cross-Straits investment surging

Investment between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan has surged this year, a spokesman said on Wednesday.

In the first seven months of 2014, mainland authorities approved 1,284 projects featuring investment by Taiwanese businesses, a 10.2-percent increase from the same period last year, while 1.47 billion U.S. dollars of Taiwanese investment has been put into use, said Ma Xiaoguang of the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office.

The authorities have also approved 34 investment projects or mainland enterprises to operate in Taiwan, with the investment reaching 195 million U.S. dollars, which exceeds the annual total of 177 million U.S. dollars last year, Ma said at a press conference.

The mainland will continue to prioritize investment in Taiwan while opening its market so the two sides can share development opportunities, according to the spokesman.

The mainland has long encouraged Taiwanese enterprises to develop in the mainland, issuing a number of favorable policies. Measures have also been taken to make it more convenient for Taiwanese to travel across the Strait, find jobs as well as receive education and medical care.

Ma said that mainland authorities will continue their economic reform to provide better conditions and policies for Taiwanese businesspeople to invest in the mainland.