Businesses from China's Taiwan Region hope for peace and improved ties across the Taiwan Strait, as the mainland market, in particular the Yangtze River Delta, provides vast opportunities for their development, said Wang Hailiang, director of the Shanghai Institute for East Asian Studies.
The comments come as the Chinese Kuomintang (KMT) party, led by its chairwoman Cheng Li-wun, is on a visit to the mainland that will run through Sunday.
The delegation is scheduled to visit Jiangsu Province, Shanghai and Beijing, marking the first time in a decade that a KMT chairperson has led a delegation to the mainland.
In an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN), Wang said following the visit to Jiangsu, Cheng will take part in a series of economic, trade, and people-to-people exchange activities with Taiwan business people and students in Shanghai.
"After her visit to Nanjing, she is expected to host a large-scale symposium in Shanghai with Taiwan business people and students in Shanghai and even some Taiwan compatriots from neighboring regions. Through this symposium, she aims to gain an understanding of their investments, business operations, and commercial activities on the mainland, as well as listen to their opinions and suggestions, and, of course, learn about their concerns," Wang said.
According to Wang, Taiwan businesses have benefited from the opportunities in the Yangtze River Delta region.
"For Taiwan investors, enterprises and compatriots in the Yangtze River Delta region, their long-term development here has essentially led them to the conclusion that the region's development momentum has consistently been strong, and its future prospects are promising. The benefits Taiwan has reaped from the mainland, particularly from the Yangtze River Delta region, are quite substantial. According to the figures I've seen, in 2025, Taiwan's trade surplus to the mainland is around 150 billion US dollars. This clearly demonstrates that their decision to operate and develop here was the right one, so naturally, they hope for the overall improvement of cross-Strait relations, as that would be beneficial for them. Consequently, when Cheng Li-wun referred to her six-day visit as a peace tour, she received widespread support from the Taiwan business community," he said.
Looking at the bigger picture, Wang said people in Taiwan cherish peace across the Taiwan Strait, and hope that Cheng's visit will improve cross-Strait economic, trade, and people-to-people exchanges.
"Peace is the greatest common divisor for Taiwan. In fact, it is something that people on both sides of the strait strongly support. We look forward to Cheng's upcoming visit, which we believe will play a positive role in the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations," Wang said.
Taiwan businesses benefit from mainland market opportunities: expert
