On the morning of April 8, the 2009 Cross-Straits Economic and Trade Forum, one of the highlights of CXMEE, opened at Xiamen International Conference and Exhibition Center. Attendees discussed ways to promote financial cooperation and serve small and medium-sized enterprises across the Taiwan Straits, and shared their insights in coping with the serious challenges posed by the international financial crisis, taking full advantage of the mutual advantages of the mainland and Taiwan, and boosting international competitiveness of the SMEs across the Taiwan Straits.
The forum was chaired and addressed by Liu Cigui, Director of the 13th CXMEE Organizing Committee and Mayor of Xiamen. Mr. Liu was joined by other dignitaries, including Li Shuiling, President of the Association of Economy and Trade across the Taiwan Straits; Douglas Hung, Chief Executive Officer of the Cross-Straits Common Market Foundation; Gong Tianxing, General Manager of Fubon Financial Holding; Cheng Fu-Hung, Deputy Executive Manager of the Taiwan Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers’ Association (TEEMA); Lai Shangui, Director of the SMEs Department of Taiwan’s “Ministry of Economy”; Hong Ruibin, Director of the Economic Research Department of Taiwan’s Economic Construction Society; and Mao Yushi, Director-General of the Tianze Economic Research Institute.
In his address, Xiamen Mayor Liu stated that CXMEE was a timely move for both sides of the Taiwan Strait to cope with the unfolding international financial crisis and get through the tough times. He added that SMEs have been playing an increasingly important role in economic development and should complement their mutual advantages and strengthen cooperation in order to sustain growth and push cross-straits economic and trade cooperation to new highs.
In his speech, Cheng Fu-Hung, TEEMA Deputy Executive Manager expressed his hopes for greater financing cooperation across the Taiwan Straits, and called for the establishment of a venture capital mechanism in order to turn the Greater China Region into a top manufacturing base.
At the forum, attendees also shared insights into various other topics, including the consolidation of financial resources across the Taiwan Straits, SME financing and two-way investment, and ways to cope with technical barriers in world trade.