China's mainland customs authority said on Monday trade with Taiwan would continue maintaining the current momentum to grow steadily.

According to the mainland's General Administration of Customs, trade between the mainland and Taiwan in August amounted to 12.23 billion U.S. dollars, in which the mainland's imports were worth 9.7 billion U.S. dollars and exports to Taiwan achieved a record 2.52 billion U.S. dollars.

Through August, trade between the mainland and Taiwan totaled 93.11 billion U.S. dollars, soaring 20 percent year on year. The growth rate was 7 percentage points higher than last year's figure.

In a breakdown, the mainland imported 75.01 billion U.S. dollars of goods from Taiwan, up 20.2 percent, while its exports to Taiwan were valued at 18.1 billion U.S. dollars, up 19.3 percent from a year earlier.

The mainland customs said favorable economic policies, including weekend cross-Strait charter flights and allowing mainland tourists to visit Taiwan, were laying a solid foundation for the development of closer trade relations between the mainland and Taiwan.

(Xinhua News Agency October 13, 2008)