Taiwan election: Beijing gives details on Fujian cross-strait ‘model zone’, 3 days before island votes in new president

Name: What Taiwan’s presidential election will mean for China, the US and the world
Uploaded: 2024-01-09T12:53:48.000Z
Duration: 10 min 34 s
Description: What Taiwan’s presidential election will mean for China, the US and the world

Joint policy paper comes four months after mainland Chinese authorities outlined ‘interconnected living’ plan

While releasing plan to ‘better leverage’ Fujian’s closeness to Taiwan, Beijing also hits out at island’s ruling DPP over lack of ‘effective’ steps on trade barriers

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Beijing has highlighted Fujian province’s planned integration with the Quemoy and Matsu island groups, both controlled by Taiwan and its closest point to the mainland. Photo: Bloomberg

William Zheng

Published: 8:53pm, 9 Jan 2024Updated: 9:27pm, 9 Jan 2024

Beijing has announced further details of its plan to make the coastal province of Fujian a “model zone” for integrated development with Taiwan, three days before the island elects a new president.

It is the latest in several cross-strait economic policies announced by Beijing in the lead-up to Saturday’s vote and criticised by Taiwan as coercive.

The measures were jointly announced on Tuesday by the mainland Ministry of Commerce, its top economic planning body the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Taiwan Affairs Office – the official agency managing cross-strait ties.

This comes four months after Beijing announced sweeping guidelines on an “interconnected living” plan for Taiwan and Fujian, the southeastern mainland province geographically and culturally closest to the island.

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What Taiwan’s presidential election will mean for China, the US and the world

But the Ministry of Commerce also hit out at Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) on Tuesday, saying it had not taken any “effective measures” to lift trade restrictions on mainland goods and warning of further retaliatory moves.