The economies of Fujian province and Taiwan are complementary, and gains from increasing trade across the Taiwan Straits can benefit both sides amid the ongoing global economic downturn, Nobel Prize-winning Canadian economist Robert Mundell said at a forum in Fuzhou, capital of East China's Fujian province, on Friday.

Taiwan's technology and foreign investment is a great plus for the development of Fujian, which has a larger supply of cheap labor that attracts investment from the island, Mundell said.

He also compared the development of the coastal province, which views Taiwan to the east across the sea, to the success story of economic cooperation between Guangdong province and Hong Kong.

The forum, a sideline event of the 14th Cross-Straits Fair for Economy and Trade in Fuzhou, was designated this year to discuss how to develop the west side of the Taiwan Straits as an open and vigorous economy, distinct from the development path of the Yangtze and Pearl river deltas, which achieved economic success during the past three decades of China's reform and opening-up.

Fujian, the province on the west side of the Taiwan Straits, aims to open up and attract investment from the island.

Statistics show that as of the end of March, the province had more than 3,800 Taiwan-funded enterprises, with a total investment of $9.7 billion.

In the first quarter of this year, more than 60 new enterprises from Taiwan were established in the province.

Starting this year, the provincial government will allocate 10 million yuan ($1.6 million) each year to promote the development of Taiwan-funded enterprises, according to a Xinhua News Agency report on Thursday.

The fund will be used to support the construction of facilities and infrastructure in both State-level and provincial-level Taiwan investment zones in the province, and to subsidize the work of attracting investment from Taiwan.

The fund will also be used to reward local Taiwan-funded enterprises that have produced innovative goods and services.

Fuzhou, capital of the province, should spearhead the development of the region as a business hub that is open for foreign trade, Mayor Yang Yimin said at the forum.

Last year, the import-export trade value of Fuzhou surpassed $35 billion, up 41 percent year-on-year, according to Yang. The growth rate was almost double the average for the nation.

Chen Dongqi, deputy head of the National Development and Reform Commission's macroeconomic research institute, said the capital city of the province should serve as a pioneer in boosting cross-Straits trade and exchanges.

On Friday, an inauguration ceremony was held in Fuzhou to mark the establishment of an administration office in the city, which issues certificate of origins to the Chinese mainland goods and commodities for tax breaks when exported to Taiwan.

The office is the first of its kind on the mainland established by the General Administration of Customs, and its presence is a new step forward to boost trade with Taiwan, the administration said in a statement on Friday.

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