THE Chinese mainland was scheduled to organize three buying teams to visit Taiwan to purchase products and materials, Yao Jian, spokesman of the Ministry of Commerce, said yesterday.

The ministry, the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology were endeavoring to organize three trade teams to visit Taiwan at the end of this month, next month and early July to deepen economic ties, Yao said.

Yao did not specify how many mainland businesses would visit Taiwan and how much they planned to spend. He added they would mainly focus on purchasing handicrafts, processed food, daily necessities, machinery equipment and raw materials.

Li Shuilin, head of the Association of Economy and Trade Across the Taiwan Strait, a non-governmental mainland institution, would head the first team. It will include business people from home appliance, light industry and food processing firms. The delegation would also carry out business talks in Taiwan, according to the statement.