Taipei, Aug. 24 (CNA) New Taipei Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) said Wednesday that he will strive to promote city-to-city exchanges across the Taiwan Strait because such exchanges will help boost development on both sides.

Chu made the comment after hosting a luncheon in honor of Sha Hailin (沙海林), director of the Chinese Communist Party's Shanghai Municipal Committee United Front Work Department, who was visiting Taiwan at the head of the Shanghai delegation to this year's Taipei-Shanghai Forum.

During the luncheon, Chu said, he exchanged views with Sha on a wide range of topics, including senior nursing homes, the environment and low birth rates.

Chu said he also expressed the hope that Taiwanese residents in China will not be affected by any changes in the political atmosphere across the strait, and he urged China to lower the barriers to investment by Taiwanese businesses.

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