Due to geographical proximity and cultural affinity, Taiwanese businesses have naturally made mainland China their priority overseas investment location in recent years. According to statistics from the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), as of November 1999 there were over 20,000 Taiwanese firms with investments in mainland China, and Taiwan's trade surplus with the mainland was US $ 13 billion last year.
由於地緣及文化的接近性，這幾年台商自然以大陸為優先投資地區，根據經濟部國貿局統計，直至一九九九年十一月為止，到大陸投資的台商已超過兩萬家，去年全台灣對大陸的順差有一百三十億美元，如果缺乏大陸這塊腹地，台灣的外貿將出現逆差。