Taiwanese exporters shipping commodities to the Chinese mainland received more than 281 million yuan (43.4 million U.S. dollars) in tariff reductions between January and May, a government spokesman said Wednesday.

Taiwan exported commodities worth a total of 1.56 billion U.S. dollars in the five months after the mainland and Taiwan officially implemented the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) on Jan. 1, Yang Yi, a spokesman with the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office, said at a press conference.

More than forty companies and five financial firms from Taiwan have entered the mainland market under the ECFA's "early harvest" plan, and more than 10 mainland companies have entered the Taiwan market under the same plan, Yang said.

The official said that the first group of individual mainland tourists to visit the island after the recent lifting of a travel ban will represent a chance for people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait to enhance mutual understanding.

The spokesman also announced that thousands of young people from the mainland and Taiwan will participate in a special exchange event to be held in Beijing and other mainland cities in July.

Yang added that the mainland-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) and Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) were negotiating on issues for their seventh meeting, trying to hold the meeting this summer.

Since the mainland and Taiwan resumed regular cross-Strait contacts and consultations in 2008, the ARATS and the SEF have held meetings about twice a year in the mainland and Taiwan alternately.

According to Yang, since Taiwan authorities lifted the ban on mainland's investment in the island, 86 mainland investment projects worth 180 million U.S. dollars have been approved in Taiwan.

The spokesman said the mainland hopes Taiwan authorities can further reduce investment restrictions for mainland enterprises that will not only promote Taiwan's economy but also benefit mainland companies.