CHENGDU - The mainland and Taiwan have jointly proposed further developing economic and cultural ties and are calling for the setting up of an information-sharing mechanism on nuclear power safety.

The moves were made on Sunday at the end of the Seventh Cross-Straits Economic, Trade and Culture Forum - a regular session involving the mainland and Taiwan - that concluded in Chengdu, the capital of Southwest China's Sichuan province.

It was the first time the two had put nuclear power safety on the agenda of cross-Straits exchanges, which Beijing's top Taiwan affairs official, Wang Yi, said was "beneficial for grassroots people on both sides".

The two agreed to improve exchanges in nuclear power safety, share related information, increase cooperation between professional institutes and have in-depth exchanges on nuclear power emergency management and security technology, said the statement issued at the end of the forum.

The proposal, which comprised 19 suggestions in total, included 12 on bilateral economic exchanges and six items of cultural communication.

Participants from both sides of the Straits urged increased exchanges on finance, agriculture, investment and especially the upgrading of cross-Straits cooperation in industrial sectors.

Zhang Guanhua, deputy director of the Institute of Taiwan Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said at a group discussion that the mainland's development blueprint for the period of the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015) presented great opportunities for both sides of the Taiwan Straits to deepen their industrial cooperation.

"The cooperation in the service industry is very likely to become one of the new highlights of cross-Straits economic ties, whereas previously cross-Straits cooperation in the industry sectors was heavily focused on the manufacturing end," he said.

In addition, the proposal called on the two sides to further cooperate in the areas of culture, education and youth exchanges.

Wang Yi, who is also the director of the Taiwan Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said he hopes a mechanism can be established that works specifically on the implementation of the suggestions proposed at all previous forums.

Past forums have made more than 100 suggestions, and the majority of them have been realized, Wang said.

About 450 representatives and experts from both sides attended the two-day forum.

Jia Qinglin, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, spoke highly of the forum at the closing ceremony.

"The forum again shows the importance of the exchange platform between the Communist Party of China and the Kuomintang," said Jia.

Jia said this year will be crucial for the development of continuing cross-Straits ties.

Efforts should be made to steer cross-Straits ties in the right direction, Jia said, urging the mainland and Taiwan to continue safeguarding the political foundation of jointly opposing "Taiwan independence" and sticking to the 1992 Consensus, increasing mutual trust and continuing to enjoy a good interaction, in a bid to create sound conditions for the peaceful development of cross-Straits ties.

Kuomintang honorary chairman Wu Poh-hsiung said at the closing ceremony that Taiwan and the mainland should expand cooperation to maximize the benefits for both sides.

"We should cement mutual trust, seek common ground while reserving differences, and treasure the hard-won peaceful development of cross-Straits ties," Wu said.