Chairman Chiang Pin-kung of the Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation and his delegation ended a five-day mainland tour and left for Taiwan shortly after noon Wednesday.

The group began their visit in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province, Saturday. They later moved on to Yangzhou and Suzhou, two scenic cities in Jiangsu. They arrived in Shanghai Tuesday afternoon.

Chiang signed three agreements on opening regular flights and on boosting financial and judicial cooperation with the mainland's chief negotiator, Chen Yunlin. They also reached a consensus on allowing mainland companies to invest in Taiwan.

Chen is president of the mainland-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits.

The three agreements and the consensus have been heralded as major steps in the development of cross-Straits ties.

In Shanghai, Chiang met with Mayor Han Zheng and then with representatives of Taiwan business people in the city.

(Xinhua News Agency April 29, 2009)