Taiwan Photo:VCG

A spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council on Sunday confirmed that the Chinese mainland has registered or updated the registration information of 63 qualified companies from the island of Taiwan after verification.

Last year, certain Taiwan food companies temporarily failed to complete registration with mainland authorities, which drew attention on the island, with the secessionist Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities even trying to politicize the issue.

Asked about updates on Taiwan firms' registration process at a press briefing on Sunday, Ma Xiaoguang, the spokesperson, said that a number of Taiwan-based food companies failed to hand in complete registration information in accordance with the regulations, which affected their exports to the mainland.

Those companies, including Kinmen Kaoliang Liquor Inc, have recently submitted supplementary registration materials to relevant mainland authorities, and have conveyed an appeal that they hope they can complete the registration and resume exports to the mainland market as soon as possible. 

"We attach great importance to this and actively address it," Ma said, revealing that after verification, relevant departments have registered or updated registration information for 63 Taiwan companies and offered specific reasons for companies that temporarily cannot be registered.

Ma stressed that the mainland stands ready to continue to help solve problems involving incomplete details and irregularities in the registration information of some Taiwan food enterprises.

"We always respect, care for and work for the benefit of Taiwan compatriots, and will continue to work to promote cross-Straits economic and cultural exchanges and cooperation," he said. 

Zhang Wensheng, deputy dean of the Taiwan Research Institute at Xiamen University, said that Ma's comments further debunked claims in Taiwan media that mainland officials had deliberately blocked imports of goods from Taiwan.

"It shows that mainland officials have treated Taiwan-related economic issues according to laws and regulations. This gives protection to businesspeople both on the mainland and in Taiwan as their trade and economic activities won't be easily affected by fluctuations in the political environment," he said. 

Zhu Fenglian, another spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said in 2022 that reports suggesting the mainland had suspended seafood imports from Taiwan without prior warning were not true and could be the latest example of "political hype."

Zhang said that such reports in certain Taiwan media showed their attempt, under the influence of the secessionist DPP authorities, to politicize economic and trade issues, which would have a negative impact on cross-Straits exchanges. 

The mainland's trade with Taiwan increased by 0.4 percent in yuan terms last year, official data showed.

Global Times