Chinese mainland registers trade deficit of more than $77 bln with Taiwan

BEIJING, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese mainland registered a trade deficit of 77.56 billion U.S. dollars with Taiwan last year, according to the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) on Friday.

Trade volume between the mainland and Taiwan reached 124.48 billion U.S. dollars, up 15.4 percent year on year, MOC statistics show.

In 2007, the mainland's exports to Taiwan reached 23.46 billion U.S. dollars and imports from the island reached 101.02 billion U.S. dollars, up 13.1 percent and 16 percent respectively.

During the same period, the mainland approved 3,299 projects with Taiwan investment and the actual use of Taiwan investment reached 1.77 billion U.S. dollars, down 12.1 percent and 20.4 percent respectively year on year.

By the end of 2007, direct investment from Taiwan in the mainland , totaled 45.76 billion U.S. dollars since figures first began in 1988 with the opening up of trade between the mainland and Taiwan. The actual use of Taiwan's direct investment in the mainland accounted for six percent of all actually used direct investment from outside the Chinese mainland.

Taiwan is the mainland's seventh largest trade partner, ninth largest export market and fifth largest import market.