CIIE Photo:VCG

More and more enterprises from China's Taiwan island are attending the China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai in pursuit of business opportunities in the Chinese mainland with the support of central authorities. At the ongoing 5th CIIE, many Taiwan firms drew great interest from mainland consumers and some even inked sizable deals.

Johnson Health Tech Co, an exercise equipment maker headquartered in Taiwan, attends the CIIE for the first time. With the help of the CIIE platform, Johnson expanded its market in the mainland, finding distributors from different regions. At the CIIE, the company signed cooperation intention agreements worth more than 500 million yuan ($68.9 million) with over 20 mainland enterprises.

All of this will bring the company more business opportunities and more returns, according to a statement the company sent to the Global Times on Wednesday. 

It is also the first time Want Want Group's disinfectant brand, Water God, participate in the expo. On behalf of Want Want Group, Tsai Wang Ting, executive director of Want Want Water God Business Department, told the Global Times at the booth that he was very excited and honored to attend the 5th CIIE this year.

"CIIE is a very good platform for sharing and learning. We see a lot of well-known enterprises here, including large and small enterprises. We not only want to share our products to others, but also want to learn from others such as their business models, culture and products," Tsai said.

The group brought two brands to showcase at the expo. Water God displayed a number of product series such as disinfectants and other products.

A Global Times reporter saw many consumers experiencing the products such as fitness equipment, disinfecting products and coffee, and asking for more information about the products with great interest. 

Central authorities have offered tremendous support for enterprises from the island to conduct business in the mainland market.

In July, the Ministry of Commerce and the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council held a promotion meeting for enterprises from China's Taiwan region, extending an invitation to them to participate in the 5th CIIE, aiming to promote trade and support economic integration and development between the mainland and the region.

Cross-Straits trade continues to grow in 2022 despite challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic. In the first 10 months, the island's exports to the mainland increased 0.2 percent year-on-year, according to data released by the General Administration of Customs on Monday.