Jia Qinglin (C), member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, who is also chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, meets with trade union representatives from Taiwan Province in Beijing, Nov. 3, 2009. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing)

BEIJING, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- The mainland would spare no effort in its continued support for Taiwan to ward off the impact of the global economic downturn, a senior leader of the Communist Party of China (CPC) said Tuesday.

Jia Qinglin, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, made the remarks in a meeting with trade union representatives from Taiwan.

Jia Qinglin (3rd L, front), member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, who is also chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, meets with trade union representatives from Taiwan Province in Beijing, Nov. 3, 2009. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing)

Challenged by the global financial crisis, the mainland and Taiwan had strengthened economic cooperation and provided mutual support, which had yielded positive results, said Jia, also chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

He called on both sides to step up cooperation to offset potential risks despite signs of recovery of the global economy.

In light of the peaceful development of mainland-Taiwan relations, exchanges between the two sides faced unprecedented opportunities, he said.

People on both sides should grasp the opportunities and improve people-to-people exchanges at grassroots levels and expand areas of cooperation, he said.

Jia urged more trade unionists from Taiwan to be involved in mainland-Taiwan exchanges and cooperation.