BOAO, Hainan, April 23 (Xinhua) -- The economic exchanges and cooperation across the Taiwan straits require a peaceful and stable cross-Straits relations, said a senior official here Saturday.

   Jia Qinglin, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, made the remarks when meeting with Vincent C. Siew, chairman of the Taiwan-based Cross-Straits Market Foundation, in Boao, a scenic town in southernmost Hainan Province.

   The enhanced and closer economic exchange and cooperation across the Taiwan Straits can serve the welfare of people across the Straits, he told Siew, who was here to attend the 2005 annual conference of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA), which opened here Saturday.

   Statistics show that Taiwan businessmen have invested in more than 60,000 projects in the mainland, with contractual investment hitting almost 80 billion US dollars and 40 billion dollars being actually used.

   Indirect trade volume between the mainland and Taiwan totaled more than 400 billion dollars, of which Taiwan has obtained an accumulated trade surplus of 270 billions dollars. In 2004 alone, the trade volume across the Straits reached more than 78 billion dollars.

   According to Jia, the tensions across the Taiwan Straits have shown certain signs of easing as new positive elements to restrain the separatist activities of the Taiwan independence have emerged.

   "We hope the Taiwan authorities make no move to impede the resumption of the cross-Straits dialogue and negotiations. If so, the problems of concern to people on both sides could not be resolved," he said.

   "We are striving for resuming dialogue and negotiation based on the 'one-China principle' and promoting exchange and dialogue with all of the Taiwan political parties, organizations or representatives who agree with the '1992 Consensus', oppose Taiwan independence and advocate to develop cross-Straits relations," he said.

   "So long as anyone recognizes the One-China Principle and the 1992 Consensus, we are ready to talk with them on issues of developing cross-Strait relations and peaceful reunification no matter who they are or which party they affiliate, or no matter what they had said or done," Jia said.

   Peace across the Straits benefits both and cooperation brings win-win solution to both, he said.

   Siew said Taiwan and the mainland could continue to strengthen their economic and trade cooperation while carrying out political exchange and dialogue in a bid to deepen mutual understanding, untie political deadlock and seek a way out for Taiwan's economic growth.  Enditem