Aerial photo taken on Sept. 16, 2021 shows a lantern fair celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival in Zhouzhuang Township of Kunshan City, east China's Jiangsu Province.Photo:Xinhua

Authorities on the Chinese mainland refuted some recent Taiwan media reports claiming that Kunshan, a major hub for Taiwan island-based manufacturers, has witnessed an exit of firms, saying those reports are false.

Kunshan, a small city under the jurisdiction of Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu Province, has been an attractive investment location for businesses from the Taiwan island since the 1990s.

"For a long time, a vast number of Taiwan firms and businessmen have been deeply involved in Suzhou and some are now rooted in the city. They have become an important part and a unique development force for the city," Ma Xiaoguang, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, told a press conference on Wednesday.

In the first quarter, the city had 98 newly established Taiwan firms with actual used capital of $612 million, up 6.5 percent and 96 percent respectively on a yearly basis, local data showed.

Last year, many Taiwan firms accelerated their investment in the city, reflecting their optimistic outlook for Suzhou's future and their firm determination to continue operations in the city, Ma said.

As of March this year, Suzhou had approved a total of more than 13,000 Taiwan-funded firms, with actual used capital exceeding $36 billion.

A representative of Kunshan Liufeng Machinery Industry Co, a subsidiary of Taiwan-based Lio Ho Machine Works, which is an operator in the motor vehicle electrical manufacturing sector, disputed media reports claiming the company was planning to shift one of its production lines from Kunshan to Vietnam, dismissing the report as a rumor. On the contrary, the company has intentions to expand investment in the Chinese mainland.

Kunshan Liufeng Machinery launched a new factory construction plan in Kunshan in 2021, and the facility is listed as a major industrial project in the city, according to Ma.

The first phase investment of the new plant is about 400 million yuan ($57.2 million). It will become the most advanced production base of Lio Ho Machine Works on the mainland. 

Companies in Taiwan's vehicle industry supply chain have formed a consensus that the biggest opportunity lies in the Chinese mainland, which will become the world's largest automobile manufacturing base and consumption market. 

Many related companies from Taiwan have begun research and development and production of electronic components for new-energy vehicles, a rapidly growing sector in the mainland, to seek more business opportunities, industry observers told the Global Times.

Global Times