XIAMEN — More bridges instead of barriers are expected to allow cross-Straits intelligent manufacturing industries to jointly tap the market, as they are more complementary than competitive.

The remark was made by Li Rongmin, head of the Taipei office of China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products, at the 2017 Xiamen Industry Exposition which opened Wednesday.

He said that the mainland encourages investment both in and from Taiwan. Cross-Straits industries should cooperate in fields such as standards, personnel exchanges, finance and Internet cloud computing.

"Taiwan is strong in research and the electronic information industry," said Li, "but not in its investment environment."

The Chinese mainland has been growing very rapidly in international resource integration, robot manufacturing, 3D printing and other technologies. It also has great demand for semiconductors and high-end machine tools, he added.

Intelligent manufacturing is what the cross-Straits cooperation should aim for, said Gou Tai-chiang, chairman of the Taiwan Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers' Association, who is attending the expo.

It would be conducive to cross-Straits industrial transformation and upgrading from traditional manufacturing to high-end manufacturing, said Gou.

"I hope that the cross-Straits industries, with support from the internet and big data, will combine Taiwan's technology and product foundation with the mainland's talent and market, and grasp the opportunities from the Belt and Road Initiative," he said.

Xiamen Industry Exposition, authorized by the Ministry of Commerce, has been held annually since 1997. The event has received more than 10,000 enterprises as exhibitors over the past two decades.