Chongqing, Taiwan look to boost ties

New development opportunities are to be explored at the 15th Chongqing-Taiwan Week, which got underway in the municipality on Tuesday, according to participants on both sides.

At a signing ceremony held on the opening day, nine economic and trade projects involving manufacturing, cultural tourism, agriculture and the creation of youth employment and entrepreneurship bases valued at 11.7 billion yuan ($1.6 billion) were signed between eight districts and counties in Chongqing and Taiwan.

The week will run from Sept 11 to 15 and was organized by the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council and the Chongqing government.

During the event, 19 exchange activities in economy, trade, culture and sports will be carried out, according to the Taiwan Affairs Office in Chongqing.

This year's event focuses on communication among young people, according to Chen Quan, director of the office. More than 150 young people from all walks of life from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan are expected to attend the activities.

A seminar was held aimed at enabling cross-Strait youth to pursue their dreams in Chongqing on Tuesday afternoon. An initiative calling for youth from Taiwan, especially those who come to Chongqing, to start a career and give full play to their dreams, was released at the seminar.

"There are many opportunities on the Chinese mainland," Yang Ching-ju, deputy secretary-general of the Chongqing Taiwan Merchants Association, said at the event.

Having lived in Chongqing for nearly 20 years, Yang said she has witnessed the dramatic development and growth in the city. Yang, who can fluently speak the local Chongqing dialect, is an internet influencer focusing on the culture, travel and life in Chongqing. She said the number of her fans on social media platforms including WeChat, Douyin and Bilibili has surpassed 100,000.

"I really hope more young people can grasp the chance — pay a visit here and see if they would love to stay," Yang said.

On Monday afternoon, Zhang Ping, vice-president of the mainland-based council of the summit for entrepreneurs across the Taiwan Strait, Wu Cheng-tien, chairman of Taiwan's New Party, Steve Ruey-long Chen, vice-president of the Taiwan-based council of the summit for entrepreneurs across the Taiwan Strait and Li Zhenghong, president of the Association of Taiwan Investment Enterprises on the mainland, expressed their appreciation for Chongqing in organizing the Chongqing-Taiwan week during their meeting with Chongqing's Party secretary Yuan Jiajun.

They said people on both sides of the Strait share the bond of kinship. Chongqing and Taiwan have close relations and a good foundation for cooperation. They hope the event could deepen cross-Strait exchanges and cooperation, and promote the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations.

Chongqing, a megacity of 32 million in Southwest China and a key global manufacturing base for electronics, produces one-third of the laptops and one-tenth of the mobile phones in the world.

Among the over 860 laptop-related enterprises in the city, more than 160 enterprises are Taiwan-invested.

Held since 2009, Chongqing-Taiwan Week has become a comprehensive cross-Strait exchange platform and an important carrier for economic and trade exchanges and cooperation between Chongqing and Taiwan.

Statistics show 179 projects valued at 140 billion yuan were signed during the previous 14 sessions. The projects covered electronic information and software research and development, industrial manufacturing and modern agriculture.

Last year, the number of Taiwan enterprises in Chongqing exceeded 2,000 and the trade volume between Chongqing and Taiwan reached 62.5 billion yuan.