Beijing - A senior Chinese leader on Saturday offered to help Taiwan through the global financial crisis if the island's government asks for assistance. "If the worsening world economic situation continues and the Taiwan side asks for help to solve economic difficulties, the mainland is willing to offer assistance with utmost efforts," Jia Qinglin, a member of the elite standing committee of the Chinese Communist Party's politburo, said at a bilateral economic forum.
Jia said the economic stimulus package developed by his government would also "provide new trade and investment opportunities for Taiwan businessmen," the official Xinhua news agency reported from a cross-Strait economic, trade and cultural forum in Shanghai.
Jia's offer of help through the financial crisis comes amid warming ties between the two sides.
"We should get through the difficulties hand in hand," the agency quoted him as saying.
The two sides should discuss plans for a cross-Strait economic cooperation mechanism as soon as possible, he said.
"We have paid great attention to the proposal raised by the Taiwan side to discuss and sign an agreement on cross-Straits comprehensive economic cooperation, and we will take serious account of it," Jia said.
Wu Poh-hsiung, the chairman of Taiwan's ruling Kuomintang (KMT or Nationalist) party and the KMT's Honorary Chairman Lien Chan attended the forum.
Wu was quoted as saying the improvement in relations was a result of "courage and determination" by the two parties in recent years.
He urged cooperation in infrastructure construction projects designed to stimulate domestic demand in the two economies, the agency said.
More than 400 people from the two parties and leading businesses attended the forum, it said.
Last week, the two former civil war enemies opened direct flights, shipping and postal links.
Taiwan had banned direct sea, air and trade links with China in 1949 after the Nationalists lost a civil war with the communists and fled to Taiwan to set up their government-in-exile.
The six-decade ban on trade links has severely hurt Taiwan's economy. The damage is increasing as China becomes the locomotive of the world's economy and foreign countries step over Taiwan to deal directly with China.
