China's Taiwan Affairs Office announced 10 measures on Sunday to promote cross-strait economic cooperation and livelihoods, following Kuomintang chairwoman Cheng Li-wun's six-day visit to the mainland, where she met Xi Jinping. The plan has been welcomed by Taiwan industries but drawn warnings from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party.
Cheng Li-wun's delegation concluded its visit to Nanjing, Shanghai, and Beijing, paying respects at Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum in Nanjing and Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall at Biyun Temple in Beijing. She toured Xiaomi's factory, met founder Lei Jun, and described the trip as 'highly rewarding,' calling for barrier-free cooperation. The visit featured the first top-level CPC-KMT meeting in nearly a decade with Xi Jinping, who emphasized better lives and shared development opportunities.
The measures, grounded in the 1992 Consensus and opposing 'Taiwan independence,' include: exploring regular CPC-KMT communication; Fujian sharing water, electricity, and gas with Kinmen and Matsu, and potential sea-crossing bridges; resuming direct flights to cities like Urumqi, Xi'an, Harbin, Kunming, and Lanzhou; allowing Kinmen to use Xiamen's new airport by end-2026; easing entry for compliant Taiwanese agricultural and fishery products, trade fair participation, and wharves for fishing vessels; simplifying registration for Taiwan food firms and supporting SMEs on the mainland; an institutionalized youth exchange platform inviting 20 Taiwan groups yearly; permitting qualified Taiwan TV shows, documentaries, animations, and micro-drama involvement; and resuming individual tours for Shanghai and Fujian residents to Taiwan.
Taiwan industries cheered the proposals, saying they could ease local sector pressures. The Kuomintang expressed relief at the economic and livelihood focus over political issues. However, the ruling DPP cautioned against using economic access as a 'political tool.'
Wang Yingjin, director of Renmin University's cross-strait relations research center, said the measures show mainland sincerity and will inject momentum into relations.
