This year is the start of the 12th Five-Year Plan period (2011-2015) of the Chinese mainland. In the next five years, new industries of strategic importance will be a major driving factor for China's economic development. These industries are also expected to serve as a new avenue for cooperation between the mainland and Taiwan.

In 2010, the Communist Party of China's Central Committee (CPCCC) outlined China's economic and social development goals for 2011 to 2015, noting that the development of new strategic industries will be crucial for the mainland to establish a modern industrial system. In the same year, the State Council issued a document, urging greater efforts to develop seven emerging industries, including environmental protection, new-generation information technology, biology, high-end equipment manufacturing, alternative energy, new materials and alternative-energy vehicles.

In the next five years, both the mainland and Taiwan will meet the challenges of readjusting their economic structure and improving global competitiveness. To achieve these goals, improved cooperation across the Taiwan Strait will be important to both sides. Cross-Strait cooperation is critical to the development of strategic new industries in the mainland and Taiwan that will greatly improve both parties' positions in the global market.

Based on certain competitive advantages, the mainland and Taiwan should focus their cooperation in several key fields:

In the solar power market, the mainland and Taiwan currently produce 40 percent of the world's total solar battery output. The two sides should work together to promote the industry's development and achieve a mass application of solar power products. The two sides should also cooperate to set up laboratories to develop product standards and assess product quality.

Regarding the LED industry, cross-Strait cooperation should be carried out to research new materials and establish unified technical norms. The mainland should also open its market to Taiwan-made LED products.

In the new-generation IT industry, the two sides should focus on areas of common interest, such as the development of Internet TV, the design and production of 3G terminals, the application of 3G technologies, the improvement of value added data services, the construction and application of urban wireless networks, and the development of unified 4G technological specifications.

In the precision machinery industry, the mainland is dedicated to making high-end products, such as aircrafts, satellites, spacecrafts, rail transportation equipment and maritime engineering equipment, while Taiwan ranks the third worldwide in the production of precision machinery tools and spare parts. In the future, the two sides can work together to establish an international trading market and production center.

In the alternative-energy automobile industry, mainland's large market will be a major target for Taiwan electric car makers. The two sides should cooperate to improve the technical standards of electric cars and to improve both sides' global competitiveness.

To deepen cross-Strait cooperation on emerging industries, more efforts should be made to unify the development plans of the two sides. Authorities should make full use of the current communication mechanisms, especially the cross-Strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) signed in 2010, to discuss cooperation programs and incorporate the programs into the development plans of specific industries.

The mainland?and Taiwan should also establish more platforms and create innovative methods to promote the joint development of these emerging strategic industries.

(This article is published in Chinese and translated by Chen Xia.)

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