A string of events aimed at strengthening economic and trade ties with Taiwan will be held at the upcoming China International Fair for Investment & Trade (CIFIT) in Xiamen, Fujian province.

The 2015 Cross-Straits Economic & Trade Cooperation and Development Forum will get underway from 2 pm to 5 pm at the Xiamen International Conference Center on Sept 8, the fair's opening day.

Hosting the forum will be the Association of Economy and Trade Across Taiwan Straits - a trade promotion body under the mainland's Ministry of Commerce - and the Taiwan Trade Center. Zhan Huosheng, chairman of the Cross-Straits Common Market Foundation and Wang Ximeng, deputy secretary of the Taiwan Trade Center will attend the event. Business leaders from Taiwan and the mainland will discuss new cooperative opportunities under the Belt and Road Initiative.

A workshop on modern service industry development is scheduled to be held in the morning of Sept 9 with the purpose of discussing issues of finance, law, technology and management related to the modern service sector.

CITIC Medical & Health, a subsidiary of CITIC Group, and the Taiwan Cross-Strait Medical Interchange Association will co-host the 2015 Cross-Straits InterHealth Industry Development Strategy Forum on Sept 9 from 2 pm to 6 pm at the Xiamen International Convention and Exhibition Center.

The 2nd Cross-Straits Health Maintenance and Pension Industry Development Summit Forum will take place on Sept 10 from 9:30 am till noon.

Also featured at the this year's CIFIT will be a farm produce trade show, a matchmaking event for Taiwan companies and a seminar on the impact of free trade policies on cross-border e-commerce.

Xiamen has been at the forefront of the development of cross-Straits exchanges and the 2015 CIFIT is expected to further strengthen ties between the mainland and Taiwan.