China sends large group to buy Taiwanese goods

TAIPEI — A group of Chinese computer and home appliance manufacturers arrived Sunday with plans to buy billions of dollars worth of goods and components from Taiwan, officials and news reports said.

Officials from 46 Chinese companies, including big manufacturers such as Lenovo and Haier, have joined the buy-Taiwan group, group leader Li Shuilin said.

The companies have recently won bids to supply Chinese farmers and city dwellers with computers and home appliances in a state-subsidized project, and plan to buy chips and other components from Taiwan, Li said.

Li did not elaborate, but local newspapers quoted unidentified Taiwanese officials as saying the total Chinese purchases could amount to $8 billion, including $2 billion worth of flat panel displays.

Investment and travel barriers are falling between the once-bitter enemies amid warmer ties. Since Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou took office a year ago, he has sought closer economic ties with the mainland while also improving political relations. The sides split amid civil war six decades ago.

Chinese leaders have pledged to help the island counter its recent economic slump. Taiwan's economy contracted by a record 10.2 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier as foreign demand fell sharply amid the global economic slowdown.