Wang Yang, member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the CPC and vice–premier of the State Council, visited Pingtan and Zhangzhou in east China's Fujian province on Oct 27 and 28, with the aim of seeking closer economic cooperation between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan, Pingtan's official website reported.

Wang said there is great potential for cooperative opportunities between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait as their economies complement each other. He also said the two sides will be able to offer greater prospects to their residents due to the Chinese mainland's market and cost advantages and Taiwan's strength in technology and research.

You Quan, secretary of the Fujian Provincial CPC Committee, and Sun Shuliin, governor of the province, accompanied Wang during his visit.

The officials visited Zhangzhou city on Oct 27. Zhangzhou is playing a leading role in the nation's agricultural cooperation with Taiwan, and the city has created the first group of entrepreneur parks on the Chinese mainland for farmers from Taiwan. The officials visited Jubao Bio-Science Company in the Zhangpu Taiwan Farmers Entrepreneur Park with the aim of increasing their understanding of agricultural cooperation with Taiwan.

During their visit to the park, Wang welcomed Taiwan agricultural enterprise to invest in the Chinese mainland with the help of the favorable policies included in the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA). He also encouraged the province to provide more support for core agricultural technologies - such as sapling cultivation which would mean that it would no longer be necessary to import saplings from overseas.

On Oct 28, the officials visited projects in Pingtan, such as the Pingtan branch of the Taiwan company TPK, Haixia Passengers Dock, and the small transactions market to Taiwan. Wang praised Pingtan's development - as a society and also in terms of its economy - during the past three years since the foundation of the Pingtan Comprehensive Pilot Zone in 2009. He also urged the county to explore different ways to further open up to Taiwan and realize more and deeper cross-Straits cooperation.

Other officials also accompanied Wang during his two-day visit, including Bi Jingquan, deputy secretary general of the State Council, Yu Xinrong, vice minister of the Ministry of Agriculture, and Jiang Zengwei, vice minister of the Ministry of Commerce.

Edited by Niva Whyman