A Xiamen-Kinmen living circle forum held in Xiamen enables students from Kinmen and young entrepreneurs from Taiwan to find development results and vitality of the Chinese mainland. CHINA DAILY

City seeks to enhance business and cultural ties to spark mutual economic benefits

The city of Xiamen in East China's Fujian province, one of the first stops for Taiwan compatriots and enterprises entering the Chinese mainland, has taken a pioneering approach to assist businesses and broader exchanges between people from both sides of the Strait.

Established by Taiwan entrepreneurs, cross-Strait cultural and technological industry elites and investors, Xiamen's T Makers, a service platform for young innovators and entrepreneurs from Taiwan and the mainland, offers shared spaces such as startup incubators, training classrooms and business negotiation rooms. It is equipped with office, training and conference facilities, providing young entrepreneurs with an office environment and internship zones for entrepreneurship and employment.

Since its establishment in August 2016, T Makers has attracted more than 170 enterprises, including 98 Taiwan youth startups. It has helped more than 100 Taiwan youth enterprises apply for startup funding subsidies, office rent subsidies and housing rental assistance, totaling more than 10 million yuan ($1.38 million). Additionally, it features convenient and preferential services in areas such as business registration and financial and tax services for young entrepreneurs and resident enterprises.

Yu Huifang, head of T Makers, hopes to provide more detailed and professional services to youths from both sides of the Strait, turning the platform into a place where they can realize their entrepreneurial dreams.

"More young Taiwan people are considering the mainland as an ideal place for learning, living and starting businesses, thanks to the excellent support policies that provide a strong sense of gain," Yu said.

Dadeng Island in Xiamen's Xiang'an district is connected to Kinmen, an island administered by Taiwan, by a stretch of water, with the closest point being about 1 kilometer away, making it the closest part of the Chinese mainland to Kinmen. Dadeng's market for Taiwan goods is the first duty-free small commodity trading market for Taiwan on the mainland.

While markets are energizing cross-Strait businesses, the opening of shipping routes has tightly connected the lives of people on both sides.

A doctor surnamed Chang from Kinmen, who works at the Xiamen Chang Gung Hospital, travels between the two places almost every month using the Mini Three Links passenger and freight transportation route. The Mini Three Links refers to small-scale trade, shipping and postal services between Fujian province and the islands of Kinmen and Matsu.

Chang says that the ferry ride from Kinmen to Xiamen takes just 30 minutes, which is faster than flying to Taipei. Many fellow Kinmen residents prefer to spend weekends in Xiamen and choose Xiamen for medical consultations.

On Aug 5, 2018, the Fujian-Kinmen water supply project was launched, realizing the vision of "sharing a river of water" across the Strait. By the end of May, the Jinjiang-Kinmen pipeline had supplied more than 34 million metric tons of water to Kinmen, with the average daily supply increasing from 9,000 metric tons initially to 20,000 tons, accounting for about 73 percent of Kinmen water plant's usage.

"Building the Xiamen-Kinmen bridge is crucial for Kinmen's development," said Wu Chia-ying, executive vice-president of the Association of Taiwan Investment Enterprises on the Mainland, who has long focused on Xiamen-Kinmen integration.

Wu believes that from "sharing a river of water" to "walking across a bridge together," constructing a more convenient and efficient transportation network will help the free flow of people and goods between the two.

The Xiamen-Kinmen bridge (Xiamen section) project has also made progress with the completion of the A1 segment sea steel trestle. The project is now constructing a drilling platform and pile foundations, and dredging for the two main towers of the Liuwudian channel bridge.

The Xiamen section of the Xiamen-Kinmen bridge starts at the intersection of Huandao Road and Huizhan North Road in Siming district, Xiamen, and ends at the new Xiang'an airport, with a total length of about 19.6 km. The main line of the sea-crossing section features eight lanes in both directions, with a total investment of 37.27 billion yuan. Once completed, it will lay a foundation for future connectivity with Kinmen, promoting cross-Strait integration and development.

Since the end of 2023, several groups of Kinmen residents have come together to apply for residence permits. Young people from both sides are also connecting their futures more closely through interschool exchanges, and cultural and sports exchanges.

The Jinsha Academy in Haicang district, which had been rebuilt, opened to the public on June 21. It now integrates functions such as themed displays, forums, art performances and residents' leisure, and will become a large complex to host Fujian-Taiwan cultural exchanges, Maritime Silk Road culture displays and folk culture activities.

wangjinhui@chinadaily.com.cn

After being rebuilt, the Jinsha Academy opens to the public on June 21. LIN GUANGMING/FOR CHINA DAILY