Xiamen beckons Taiwan residents, enterprises

Xiamen in East China's Fujian province is speeding up the implementation of policies designed to benefit Taiwan residents and enterprises and promote cross-Straits cooperation in trade, infrastructure, energy resources and industrial standards.

Cross-Straits relations were first boosted with the opening of more frequent shipping routes between Xiamen and Jinmen, a county in Taiwan, which recently experienced its busiest summer travel season. The newly built ferry terminal offers 36 trips per day and is equipped with intelligent facilities for passengers to pass through customs.

Since it opened in 2001, the route has served travelers from both sides of the Straits and has seen its passenger volume rise from 20,000 to 1.75 million in 2018. A manager at the ferry company said that passenger volume saw year-on-year growth of 22.4 percent in the first half of 2019 and is expected to reach 1.9 million this year.

In the business field, a maker's space named EPWK, a Xiamen-headquartered professional e-commerce platform for innovative products and services, has incubated roughly 1,000 start-up teams from both sides of the Straits and attracted more than 200 Taiwan makers to set up shops in the space.

EPWK was one of the first national entrepreneurial bases to welcome young entrepreneurs from both sides of the Straits and has been dedicated to bridging the gap between young entrepreneurs from Xiamen and Taiwan.

Xiamen-Taiwan relations have also bloomed in the financial and cultural exchange sectors. Xiamen became the largest foreign trade port serving the Chinese mainland and Taiwan, with the industrial output of Taiwan enterprises accounting for one third of the city's total.

Xiamen's cross-border RMB loans to Taiwan account for 85 percent of the mainland total. More than 50 events featuring cross-Straits exchange are held in Xiamen every year.

Lin Yitian, deputy director of the Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office in Xiamen, said the city will further promote cross-Straits exchange and more closely connect people from both places.