A maternity hospital built jointly by medical institutions from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan was formally put into operation in Beijing on Thursday.

Baodao Healthcare [File Photo]

Baodao Healthcare, with an investment of 200 million yuan (31.75 million U.S. dollars), is the first mainland-Taiwan joint hospital registered in Beijing since the signing of the landmark Cross-Strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) in 2010.

The hospital marks a positive development, as the ECFA only allowed Taiwan hospitals to operate in five provinces and municipalities, excluding Beijing, said Li Bingcai, vice chairman of the mainland-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS), at a ceremony.

The hospital was also assigned to specially serve residents of Taiwan living in Beijing.

Cross-Strait cooperation in the medical sector will pick up once the two sides finish negotiations on a follow-up agreement to the ECFA on service trade, Li said.

The hospital currently has 226 medical staff, including 17 doctors from Taiwan, and provides 50 beds for expectant mothers.

Yu Chien-jen, the hospital president, told Xinhua that the hospital will introduce the latest maternity technologies and management techniques from Taiwan.

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