Tourists visit Zengpintang Aged Liquor Museum in Nanchang, capital of east China's Jiangxi Province, Jan. 6, 2021. Covering over 4,500 square meters, the museum with 18 exhibition halls showcases a collection of over 13,000 exhibits. (Xinhua/Wan Xiang)

Some Taiwan-based politicians and media outlets are "politicizing trade issues" with the mainland trying to create the illusion of “unfair trade”, experts said on Sunday, after some Taiwan media outlets attacked the mainland for liquor and seafood imports from the island.

According to Taiwan-based chinatimes.com on Sunday, the Chinese mainland customs halted a shipment of Taiwan beer and sorghum liquor from Kinmen. The report said Taiwan authorities were quick to label the action“unfair and discriminatory”.

On Friday, Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said that the reports about the mainland’s suspension of seafood imports from Taiwan without prior warning are not true and are just "political hype”.

According to Zhu, to implement the Food Security Law and related regulations, the mainland customs released new management regulations for imported food in April 2021. Enacted since January 2022, which specifies companies' responsibilities and are important in ensuring food security.  Zhu added that the information was provided to Taiwan and the companies from the island.

Zhu said that companies that have not offered complete registration information in the mainland fail to meet the mainland customs’ requirements.

"This is just normal supervision for the purpose of ensuring food safety," Zhu said.

Experts also criticized those local Taiwan media for "politicizing" economic issues in order to create the illusion of so-called “unfair trade”.

"Trade between the mainland and Taiwan must be based on reasonable, legitimate principles, instead of letting the mainland make unilateral concessions," Zhang Wensheng, deputy dean of the Taiwan Research Institute at Xiamen University, told the Global Times on Sunday, adding that Taiwan's tactic of attacking the mainland by using ideology is not going to work.

Zhang clarified that the mainland authorities won't block trade of any company that complies with the laws and regulations for no reason, including Taiwan-based firms.

Data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that the mainland imported about 55 million yuan worth ($7.9 million) of Taiwan beverages, liquor and vinegar in October, compared with 57 million yuan in September.

Global Times