Over 250 people from both sides of the Taiwan Strait gathered in Fuzhou, capital of Fujian Province, on Saturday to celebrate the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival, which falls on Oct 6 this year.
The event featured themed zones showcasing festive lanterns, folk customs, and Taiwan-funded enterprises.
Song Tao, head of the Taiwan Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, attended the gathering, alongside Sean Lien, vice chairman of the Chinese Kuomintang (KMT) party.
"This is my first time to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival in Fujian, and it feels quite different. With many close friends here, it truly gives me a sense of family reunion," said Wang Yiwen, a Taiwan compatriot living and working in Fujian.
"I hope that more Taiwan compatriots will share these great opportunities, so that we work together to build Fujian into the best place on the Chinese mainland for development of Taiwan compatriots and enterprises," said Jiang Peiqi, president of Fuzhou Taiwan Investment Enterprise Association.
Song called for efforts to safeguard the overall interests of the Chinese nation, resolutely oppose "Taiwan secession" and external interference, and boost exchanges, cooperation and integrated development across the Strait.
He also urged efforts to promote the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations and advance national reunification.
In his remarks, Lien said the KMT party will continue to strengthen cross-Strait exchanges and cooperation while promoting the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations on the basis of upholding the 1992 Consensus and opposing "Taiwan secession."
The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the most important festivals in China, which is celebrated annually on the 15th day of the eighth month on the traditional Chinese calendar.
Mid-Autumn Festival event brings together people from both sides of Taiwan Strait
China will take further steps to expand high-standard opening-up and create a new landscape of win-win cooperation in 2026, which marks the start of the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), Commerce Minister Wang Wentao said in a recent interview with China Media Group.
Wang said opening up and cooperation for mutual benefit are integral to Chinese modernization. This year, China will actively expand voluntary opening up.
The country will steadily open up such areas as value-added telecommunications, biotechnology and wholly foreign-owned hospitals, while accelerating comprehensive pilot and demonstration programs for expanded opening-up in the services sector, he noted.
"We will expand the scope and regions of unilateral opening-up and ensure the implementation of zero-tariff treatment on 100 percent of tariff lines for all African countries that have diplomatic relations with China. We will vigorously promote the effective implementation of policies for special customs operations of the Hainan Free Trade Port, further enhance the level of trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, optimize the regional layout and coverage of pilot free trade zones, and support these zones in carrying out more robust institutional opening-up trials in areas such as market access, environmental standards and government procurement, so as to better leverage their role as comprehensive pilot platforms for reform and opening-up," said Wang.
Wang said China will promote the orderly planning of cross-border industrial and supply chains.
Efforts will be made to deepen economic and trade cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative, enhance integration and connectivity across production and supply chains, and encourage cooperation in areas including green development, the digital economy, green minerals, new infrastructure and new energy so as to help build global production and supply chain partnerships that are equal, inclusive and constructive, he noted.
"We will give play to the platform role of overseas economic and trade cooperation zones, expand overseas marketing networks and explore international markets through outward investment, achieve mutual promotion between investment and trade, and advance the integrated development of trade and investment. We will also improve the overseas comprehensive service system and the national-level overseas comprehensive service platform," said the minister.
In addition, China will participate constructively in global economic governance, according to the minister.
In 2026, Wang said, China will pursue flexible and pragmatic approaches to negotiate trade and investment agreements with more willing countries and regions, while strengthening economic and trade cooperation under multilateral frameworks such as BRICS, G20 and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, to further promote mutual benefit and win-win outcomes.
China to expand high-standard opening-up to foster win-win cooperation: minister
