Top political advisor Jia Qinglin met in Nanchang on Friday with Chiang Pin-kung, vice chairman of the Kuomintang Party (KMT), and Yok Mu-ming, chairman of the New Party, from Taiwan.

Chiang and Yok were in Nanchang, capital of east China's Jiangxi Province to attend the Jiangxi-Taiwan Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum.

Jia, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), said he hopes that business and industrial circles from Taiwan continue to make efforts to promote economic exchanges between Taiwan and the mainland and make greater contributions to strengthen cross-Strait relations.

Jia noted that the development of cross-Strait economic and trade cooperation, which is beneficial to both sides, has become an important factor that drives Taiwan's economic growth.

The economic and trade exchanges with Taiwan also inject impetus to the mainland's economy, Jia said. 

(Xinhua News Agency September 23, 2006)