2018年11月26日，我院经济所副所长王勇副教授接受《环球时报》（英文版）电话专访，主要就台湾地区近日“九合一选举”结果及中美“贸易战”对两岸经贸关系发展的影响发表看法。电话专访内容已于当日《环球时报》（英文版）刊载报道，相关链接：

B45-1 Mainland, Taiwan set for closer trade ties to help both sides cope with US protectionism - Global Times http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1129064.shtml

具体报纸刊载内容如下：

Mainland, Taiwan set for closer trade ties to help both sides cope with US protectionism

By Shen Weiduo Source:Global Times Published: 2018/11/26 21:08:39

Cooperation can help both sides cope with US protectionism

Workers assemble products at a Taiwan-based enterprise in Jiujiang, East China's Jiangxi Province in March. Photo: VCG

Trade connections between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan have never stalled despite volatile cross-Straits relations in recent years, and the two sides will develop a more integrated trade relationship amid the defeat of the local election of the island's pro-independence ruling party, experts and Taiwan business representatives said.

 The two sides could also work together to cope with the negative effects of rising US trade protectionism, business representatives said.

 The remarks came after local elections, or nine-in-one elections, held in Taiwan on Saturday showed that the Democratic Progressive Party, the ruling party that has been pushing for desinicization of the island, suffered defeat.

The election results will absolutely become a positive driver for the two sides' trade cooperation. The two sides' trade dependence on each other is a 'matter of fact' that will not be altered by election, said Wang Yong, professor at the Xiamen Graduate Institute for Taiwan Studies of Xiamen University.

From January to October, the island exported $279.7 billion worth of goods in total, with the mainland its biggest market by far. Among all exports, $115.4 billion went to the mainland, up by 10 percent year-on-year, compared with $32.47 billion to the US and $19.2 billion to Japan, according to a report from the Xinhua News Agency.

Wu Jiaying, chairman of the Taiwan Businessmen's Association in Xiamen, East China's Fujian Province, told the Global Times on Monday that In the past few years, although the mainland has been announcing preferential policies to Taiwan people who wanted to do businesses in the mainland, the ruling party in Taiwan has curbed imports from the mainland. This has presented barriers for us who have businesses in the mainland, and some were forced to move their factories to Southeast Asia.

In February, the mainland revealed 31 new measures to boost exchanges and cooperation with Taiwan. A new regulation came into effect in September that allows residents of Taiwan to apply for residence permits in the mainland.

Wu said the central government has also given subsidies to help Taiwan companies that experienced a hard time.

Xue Qingde, a Taiwan businessman who has been investing for over a decade in Pingtan, Fujian Province, told the Global Times on Monday that interdependence between Taiwan and the mainland in the middle and high ends of the industrial chain cannot be easily broken and replaced by Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam.

In the fields of artificial intelligence, display panels and chip manufacturing and packaging, whether in terms of fostering talent or market demand, the two are heavily dependent on each other, Xue said, adding that these are also the sectors where the two will continue to cooperate in the future.

"The recent economic situation in the island was not satisfactory, although the growth figure seemed positive in terms of the recovery of the global economy and its good management and economic systems, "Wang said.

Wang added that the China-US trade war will also cause some short-term pain to Taiwan businesses operating in the mainland.

"But we've been exploring new markets to shake off the negative effects - for example, our exports to the Belt and Roadeconomies have been greatly increased, and that will be our new focus, Wu said. With the mainland's preferential policies, we are expecting a more integrated economic relationship and peaceful development of the cross-Straits relations. "

Newspaper headline: Mainland, Taiwan set for closer trade ties
 Posted in: ECONOMY,COMPANIES,BIZ FOCUS