Fujian recognized as beacon for cross-Strait integration

Chiang Kuo-ming, founder of Xiamen Dulusou Film and Cultural Media Co, last year became the first Taiwan media professional to obtain a license for radio and television program production and operation in East China's Fujian province. The coastal province began issuing similar licenses to media professionals and enterprises from Taiwan in 2024.

"Thanks to the license, we can produce web drama series and trade intellectual property just like our mainland counterparts, without needing additional approvals," said Chiang, who partners with mainland youth Chen Duo to create content using artificial intelligence.

"The well-developed industrial chain in the mainland makes web drama production more cost-effective and time-efficient."

Fujian has in recent years introduced a series of integrated policy measures to encourage people from Taiwan to move to the province. Entrepreneurs like Chiang say with government support, there are many promising prospects.

Yang Yu-hsuan from Taipei, founder of a Xiamen-based cultural and creative company, has also benefitted from increasing local government support.

"I've received subsidies for both housing and office space, and my children can attend school just like local students," she said.

Her company focuses on enhancing rural welfare and community spaces through cultural and artistic design and has attracted more than a dozen young employees from Taiwan. "I always encourage fellow Taiwan compatriots to start their own businesses here," she said. "Policy support has greatly eased the burden on entrepreneurs so that we can pursue what we're passionate about."

The Chinese mainland has been doubling down on its efforts to deepen integrated development across the Taiwan Strait, with Fujian province playing a leading and demonstrative role.

Wang Huning, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, underscored the importance of promoting cross-Strait integration during a meeting in Xiamen on Sunday.

Wang called on the province to leverage its unique advantages and pioneering role in cross-Strait relations to achieve more outcomes in integrated development. He also emphasized the need to advance policy and institutional innovation in the region to attract more Taiwan compatriots and businesses to thrive in the mainland.

At the 17th Straits Forum, a large cross-Strait grassroots exchange event held on Sunday in Xiamen, Zhou Zuyi, Party secretary of Fujian province, noted a steady increase in both the number of new enterprises and the scale of actual utilized investment by Taiwan compatriots in the province.

In 2024, trade between Fujian and Taiwan reached 94.4 billion yuan ($13.1 billion), marking a year-on-year growth of 4.2 percent. From January to May this year, 387,000 Taiwan residents entered the mainland through ports in Fujian, representing a 15.5 percent increase from the same period last year. The province also hosts more than 300 cross-Strait exchange events annually, Zhou said.

"We will continuously optimize the business environment for Taiwan-related enterprises, and introduce more convenient policies and measures in areas such as industry, investment, trade, finance and taxation," Zhou said.

In 2023, the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council jointly issued a directive to establish Fujian as a demonstration zone for cross-Strait integrated development.

Since then, Fujian has rolled out a range of measures to help Taiwan residents live and work more conveniently in the province, ensuring they receive the same treatment as mainland residents.

Lee Cheng-hung, president of the Association of Taiwan Investment Enterprises on the Mainland, said he hopes to see more concrete measures for integrated development rolled out in the future.

"Fujian's efforts to ensure equal treatment are commendable and could expand across the mainland, which is conducive to the cross-Strait integrated development," he said.

On June 12, the People's Bank of China and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange jointly issued a set of financial support measures to advance integrated development in the demonstration zone.