The agreement calls for enhanced protection for fruit and other agricultural products through increased investigation and punishment, Shan said.

Taiwan has an edge in agricultural technology but has limited space and higher costs for agricultural development, Zhang said, adding that expansion to the mainland provides an option for mass production at reduced costs.

The measure is also expected to protect the creative arts. Wang Xiujuan, a manager on the mainland for Liuligongfang Co, an art company based in Taiwan that began mainland sales in 1987, welcomed the agreement, saying it will help shield firms from infringement and provides encouragement to innovation.

Creative firms are generally small in scale. When encountering counterfeits, they tend to do nothing due to costs in collecting evidence and the previous lack of communication between authorities across the Straits, Wang said.

Cross-Straits cooperation can now enter a new stage, said Sheng Jiuyuan, executive director of Pudong Institute for the Taiwan Economy.

Through the accord, the two sides will shift their cooperation to "cross-Straits innovation" that integrates complementary resources instead of the previous "cross-Straits made" model focusing on export-oriented production, Sheng said.

Editor: Xu Xinlei

Source: China Daily.com.cn