The meeting, sponsored by the Taipei-based China Productivity Center, the Institute for Information Industry (III) and the Taipei Computer Association under a project initiated by the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) called Building Bridges, has drawn more than 300 representatives and CEOs, including 40 from China.

Chang Pen-tsao, chairman of the Taipei-based General Chamber of Commerce of the R.O.C., and Hsu Chung-jen, general manager of the 7-11 convenience store chain, are among the participants.

During the first day of the conference, Lee Mei, deputy director of the MOEA's Commerce Department, described the logistics services industry as one of Taiwan's key sectors because its production value accounted for nearly 30 percent of the Gross Domestic Product last year. He predicted that the industry's output will hit NT$1.5 trillion (US$46.3 billion) this year.

"Through the conference, the MOEA hopes to build a bridge of communication for companies of the two sides in one year and to forge business opportunities in two years that will lead to cooperative ventures in the third year," Lee explained.

Kung Jen-wen, deputy CEO of the III, contended that it will be a "win-win" situation if Taiwan can fully take advantage of China's large cyber-population and its vast retail market to create new horizons for Taiwan's own retail, e-commerce and logistics services.

Although Taiwan is strong in e-commerce services such as online convenience stores and online banks, Kung said the local market has become saturated due to its small scale, while at present, the value of China's e-commerce market is around NT$275 billion -- three times that of Taiwan.

"Should Taiwan get the opportunity to apply its e-commerce experience and retail sales expertise in the Chinese market, it would create a mutually beneficial situation," he said.

Both Chang and Hsu expressed optimism about the prospects for cross-strait cooperation in online service businesses at a time when Taiwan is facing the challenge of upgrading its service quality and the need to expand its scope into fresh fields.

(By Flor Wang)