The mainland will further make smooth the cross-Straits agricultural cooperation and actively implement the common proposal of the Cross-Straits Agricultural Cooperation Forum held in Hainan last month.

Li Weiyi, spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council,said on Wednesday that the mainland will further address the real problems concerning Taiwanese farmers and their agricultural produces.

The China State Administration for Industry and Commerce (CSAIC) issued a circular recently ordering its local branches to strengthen protection of trademarks of farm products originating from Taiwan in an effort to promote cross-Straits cooperation in the agricultural sector.

It also told the branches to earnestly pursue their responsibility in market supervision and protect the intellectual property rights of agricultural products from Taiwan, especially in the fruit market.

Li said the mainland will accelerate the creation of the cross-Straits pilot agricultural zones and will explore new ways and fields of cross-Straits cooperation in the agricultural sector.

Taiwan agricultural enterprises are encouraged to invest on the mainland and are welcomed to establish long-term contact with their mainland counterparts, Li said.

Statistics show that cross-Straits trade in agricultural products had totaled US$421 million by the end of 2004 and closer ties in the last three years have spurred an influx of Taiwanproduce into the mainland market.

The mainland has granted market access to 22 categories of Taiwan fruit and removed tariffs on 15 of them. It has also removed tariffs from 11 categories of vegetables and eight kinds of aquatic products.

On Wednesday's news conference, Li also praised the cross-Straits city art festivals that have been held respectively in Taipei and Beijing, saying it opens a new cultural exchange channel and will be further promoted.

(Xinhua News Agency November 16, 2006)