Inviting prospects for Taiwanese companies in Chinese mainland

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Seafood dim sum processing and freezing plant Hai Pa Wang tops the list of Taiwanese companies doing business on the Chinese mainland.

The manufacturer first set up shop on the mainland in 1994 and now has factories and logistics parks in major cities like Guangzhou, Shanghai, Chengdu and Shantou with everything from salads to hot pot soup bases bearing its brand found in supermarkets across China.

Hai Pa Wang is the first and only Taiwanese company to construct private railway lines for logistics on the mainland.

"We rely on the huge market potential of the mainland to expand our business. One cannot call his company successful unless he has market share in the mainland," said Zhuang Rongde, president of Hai Pa Wang International Group, explaining that Chinese mainland’s potential of 1.3 billion customers is more than 50 times larger than Taiwan region’s 23 million.

Good business relies on a good environment. During the recent 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), General Secretary Xi Jinping pledged to expand economic ties across the Taiwan Strait and to share development opportunities on the mainland with people from Taiwan.

Xi’s words came as Taiwan investment continues to grow on the Chinese mainland. Taiwan-based businesses invested around 2 billion US dollars in the Chinese mainland in 2016, marking a 27.7 percent growth year-on-year, according to figures from the Ministry of Commerce.

Zhuang Rongde said he felt quite encouraged about what the future might bring after listening to the three-and-a-half-hour-long report at the opening session of the CPC national congress.

"I’m a strong supporter of the One-China principle, without which, we would never have a business-friendly environment," Zhuang told CGTN.

Zhuang Rongde’s factories in Chinese mainland creates 20,000 jobs. /CGTN Photo

All of Zhuang’s three sons have positions in the business. Zhuang Zonglin, his second son, has settled down on the mainland, taking care of one of Hai Pa Wang’s most important markets.

Zhuang Zonglin’s wife and children and have been living with him on the mainland for over 20 years. Their eldest daughter completed her education on the mainland from kindergarten to university. "The prosperity of both my company and my country is very gratifying," Zhuang said.

The two generations of businessmen have decide to expand two of their factories. They hope that stronger economic ties across the Taiwan Strait will continue to bring the winds of fortune their way.