The Chinese mainland and Taiwan have great potential in cooperation in service industries, said an official from the Ministry of Commerce Monday.

In the just concluded cross-Strait economic and trade forum, the mainland released a new package of beneficial policies, some of which concern service industries, like medical service.

Service industries across the Strait complement with each other, said Tang Wei, official with the Ministry of Commerce, when briefing on the service industry on the mainland to a 38-member economic and trade study group from Taiwan.

In Taiwan, logistics, accounting, law services develop much more mature than those in the mainland, while in the mainland, labor cost is relatively cheaper, he said.

The service industries lag far behind manufacturing in the Chinese mainland, therefore a huge need for the capital influx from other countries and regions, including Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, said Tang.

The Chinese mainland has witnessed the fastest service industryin the globe, with an estimated increase rate nearing 10 percent from 2005 to 2009, he said.

By the end of 2005, the number of foreign invested companies involving the service industry was 270,000 in the mainland, with actual investment reaching 48 billion U. S. dollars, said Tang.

However, investment in service industries from Taiwan to the mainland by 2004 accounted for only eight percent to 3.2 billion U. S. dollars, said the official.

"Taiwan has comparative advantages in service industries, especially in finance and insurance, and the across-Strait cooperation in these fields is of help to upgrade the competitiveness of Taiwan's own service industries," said Chiang Pin-kung, vice-chairman of the Chinese Kuomingtang Party

The group will leave for Sichuan on Tuesday after their three-day visit in Chongqing.