TAIPEI, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) - A Taiwanese young waiter surnamed Lin at Taipei's Grand Hotel is quite familiar with people from the Chinese mainland, as a majority of his customers are mainland businessmen or officials who are to sign, or are looking for prospects of, cross-Strait economic agreements.

Lin said mainlanders could be easily recognized by their accent -- "a clearly-articulated Mandarin, sometimes decorated with dialects from east or northern China."

As a landmark in Taipei, the Grand Hotel is preferred by mainlanders because of its Chinese palace-style architecture and extravagance. The earliest five-star hotel in the city, established in May 1952, was then used to treat foreign guests of Chiang Kai-shek, then-Kuomintang leader.

Its location suits Fengshui rules, which is also a key factor for mainland visitors choosing it as a temporary residence in Taipei and a venue to hold important events.

The upcoming Chiang-Chen talk, between top negotiators of the Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) and the mainland's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS), is no exception in choosing this venue. The negotiations are scheduled to take place Tuesday in this hotel. The two organizations are authorized to handle cross-Strait affairs on behalf of their respective authorities.

Businessmen on both sides of the Strait are eyeing more trade opportunities after the "early harvest program" of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) takes effect next January, including a list of items and services to benefit from the ECFA first with preferential duty cuts and treatment. The two sides signed the pact in June.

A zero-tariff goal on commodities as outlined in the program will also be realized across the Strait within two years after the pact's implementation in September.

In order to be prepared for new opportunities, cross-Strait economic exchanges between businesses on both sides are becoming more frequent.

A 400-member delegation, led by Beijing vice mayor Ji Lin, which is made up of business representatives from IT, auto, solar power, LED, telecommunications, and farming technology, among other industries, left Taichung City Wednesday. They were here attending a technology and industrial forum held between Beijing and a Taiwan city annually since 1998. More than 30 agreements on two-way investment were signed between companies on both sides, worth billions of yuan.

SEF Chairman Chiang Pin-kung told the forum that increasing cross-Strait exchanges over the past two years produced results which "greatly contributes to Taiwan's economic growth this year."

The Chinese mainland has been Taiwan's largest trading partner and export market since 2007, according to statistics released by both sides.

Christina Y. Liu, a senior official in charge of economic planning and development under Taiwan's "Executive Yuan," said Thursday that great opportunities were ushered in after the mainland and Taiwan started direct flights in July 2008, and the door for mainland investment on the island opened in July 2009.

She told an economic forum in Taipei that more than 300 flights currently operate each week between cities across the Strait, adding that the change brought by the flights was huge, as "the number was completely zero before."

"After signing the ECFA, Taiwan has paid more attention to the mainland market, changing the traditional focus on exports to Europe and the United States," Liu said, calling on the two sides to "join efforts to make money from the world."

According to an economic forecast announced Thursday by Taiwan's Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER), a major private economic think tank, the island's economic growth for 2010 will reach 9.64 percent, mainly driven by exports and investment, which is much better than the negative-growth performance in 2009 due to the international financial crisis.

CIER Vice President Jiann-Chyuan Wang said Taiwan needs a larger market such as the mainland to drive its consumption. He cited mainlanders' individual travel to Taiwan as an example, saying that individual visits would drive "domestic consumption," promoting retail and service sectors such as hotels.

But Taiwan has currently not allowed mainland tourists to travel individually, only permitting mainlanders' package tours with stays of up to 15 days. Latest figures show the number of mainland tourists visiting Taiwan in 2010 is likely to top 1.2 million.

The two sides are likely to start trial of individual travels to the island next year.

"This is also an opportunity to develop medical tourism in Taiwan," Wang said. Taiwan's high-quality medical facilities could become a lure for mainland tourists. A medical and health cooperation agreement is also expected to be signed at the upcoming cross-Strait talks.

Prof. Chu-Chia Steve Lin of the Department of Economics of the Taipei-based National Chengchi University said mainlanders' individual travel could help lower Taiwan's jobless rate, which would reach 5.26 percent in 2010 and 4.83 percent in 2011, according to the CIER forecast.

He noted that mainland investment could play a larger role in Taiwan's economic growth, but there were "still many restrictions" imposed by Taiwan authorities, including a ban on mainland capitals to run rental services.

Currently 3 to 4 billion New Taiwan dollars (more than 100 million U.S. dollars) from the mainland is invested in the island annually, which is "far from enough," Lin said.

Liu, the economic official, said investment from the mainland could also lower Taiwan's jobless rate and increase people's salary, thus boosting consumer confidence and "domestic consumption."

It is estimated that about 260,000 new jobs will be created in Taiwan by the ECFA's early harvest program, which will benefit at least 23,000 small and medium-sized enterprises in the island.

Average monthly wages this year in Taiwan are expected to "reach a record high of more than 44,000 New Taiwan dollars," Liu said.