The Xiamen Haicang Integrated Circuits Park offers great opportunities for the integrated development across the Taiwan Straits. [Photo/xmhcicc.net]

The 31 measures, launched in February last year to promote cross-Straits economic and cultural exchanges, have been put into sound effect in Fujian, according to Zhong Zhigang, deputy director of the Taiwan Affairs Office of East China's Fujian province, at a news briefing in Fuzhou Dec 3.

Zhong noted that the implementation of the 31 measures has greatly enhanced economic and trade cooperation between Fujian and Taiwan. By the end of October, the province had utilized more than $30 billion of Taiwan investments, and attracted 22 Taiwan-funded financing institutions. In 2018, the number of newly approved Taiwan enterprises ranked first on the Chinese mainland.

The number of Taiwan people coming to Fujian for cooperation and exchanges has continued to increase. Last year, 3.63 million Taiwan residents visited Fujian, 16 percent more than in 2017. In the first half of 2019, more than 4,300 people from Taiwan obtained professional qualifications as skilled personnel in Fujian, according to Zhong.

The government has released a range of measures to encourage Taiwan youth working or starting a business in Fujian, making the province a hotspot for young people from Taiwan. About 12,300 young people from Taiwan went to the province to find work or start their own businesses last year, an 87 percent year-on-year increase.

In addition, the province has accelerated integrated development across the Taiwan Straits, with a number of cooperative bases established, including such industries as integrated circuits, petrochemical engineering, precision machinery, agriculture and fisheries.

A total of 17 regular shipping and air routes link Taiwan and Fujian, transporting nearly 6,000 passengers a day and making it possible for fresh fruit picked in the morning in Taiwan to hit the market in Fujian in the afternoon.

In terms of water, electricity and gas connections, Fujian has provided 3.9 million metric tons of water to Jinmen since the establishment of the project in August 2018. The preliminary research for building a bridge linking Xiamen with Kinmen and another between Fuzhou and Matsu was launched in October to meet the demands of people in Kinmen and Matsu and help them benefit from development opportunities on the mainland.