BEIJING -- The Chinese mainland is actively pushing forward the establishment of a cross-Strait monetary settlement mechanism and hopes achievements will be made soon.

Fan Liqing, spokeswoman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, made the statement at a press conference.

The mainland supported Xiamen, a city of southeast China's Fujian province that stands opposite to Taiwan across the Strait, as a "first mover" to set up a regional financial service center dedicated to cross-Strait business, Fan said.

"It is conducive to cross-Strait financial, economic and trade cooperation and exchanges," she said.

In response to questions on whether purchasing contracts signed by a mainland delegation to the island have been fulfilled, Fan said that organizing opportunities for mainland businesspeople to visit Taiwan to purchase goods there is "our goodwill shown to Taiwan compatriots."

These purchases are "earnest and practical" and are fulfilled promptly according to contracts, she said, adding, "We feel regret over the spreading of false accusations by some Taiwanese."

Cross-Strait economic exchanges have kept sound momentum this year, with many mainland economic delegations on investment, trade and industrial cooperation visiting the island, Fan said.

The mainland encourages enterprises from both sides to deepen cooperation and expand the scope of trade and investment.