The Chinese mainland will continue to actively promote personnel exchanges and cooperation with Taiwan across various fields and welcome more compatriots in region to share development opportunities of Chinese modernization, State Council Taiwan Affairs Office spokeswoman Zhu Fenglian said Wednesday.
A recent survey on cross-Strait relations conducted in the Taiwan region shows that public support exceeds 60 percent for three specific areas: platforms for cross-Strait exchange, increasing travel and exchange, and expanding non-governmental exchanges in film and television, the arts, and sports.
"Facts have proved that seeking peace, development, communication and cooperation is the mainstream public opinion in Taiwan and a collective consensus across all sectors of the island. We will consistently uphold the conviction that people on both sides of the Taiwan Straits are of the same family, continue to introduce more policies that benefit Taiwan and its people, strengthen institutional support for cross-Strait exchange and integration, and actively promote personnel exchanges and cooperation across various fields," Zhu said at a press conference in Beijing.
"We warmly welcome more Taiwan compatriots to participate in cross-Strait exchanges and cooperation in various ways, get involved in the process of integrated cross-Strait development, and share development opportunities of Chinese modernization," she said.
Chinese mainland to actively promote personnel exchanges, cooperation with Taiwan: spokeswoman
With the arrival of the Mid-Autumn Festival and the National Day holiday, markets across China are seeing booming sales, backed by strong supplies ranging from assorted mooncakes to leafy greens and fresh seafood.
As the Mid-Autumn Festival approaches, mooncake sales have entered their peak season in cities across China. At a long-established pastry shop in north China's Tianjin Municipality, customers keep staff busy packing and restocking mooncakes. The shop owner said that the daily sales are now close to 400,000 yuan (about 60,000 U.S. dollars).
Many merchants in Tianjin are focusing on new flavors and offering freshly made, in-store mooncakes, attracting customers eager for both taste and freshness.
"Our master chefs make every mooncake fresh on the spot, wrapping and baking each one by hand. Sometimes customers buy them while they are still warm, straight from the kitchen," said Xiao Huifang, shop owner.
To ensure sufficient supplies for the busy season, markets nationwide have stepped up efforts. At Changsha HiGreen agri-products logistics park in Hunan Province, the largest wholesale market in central China, deliveries of vegetables from Yunnan, Shandong, Guangdong and other regions start early each morning. Local specialties and a wide selection of leafy greens and fruiting vegetables fill the stalls.
The market supervisor said that vegetable trading has increased by nearly 30 percent recently, reaching a daily volume of 15,000 tonnes. With over 300 types of vegetables, they keep supply steady and diverse.
Fruit markets are also bustling. At the Hongxing Global Agricultural Wholesale Center in Changsha, the region's largest fruit trading hub, daily fruit sales average 13,000 tonnes, reaching close to 20,000 tonnes on peak days.
Meanwhile, seafood supplies are swelling along China's eastern coast. At major fishing ports in Rizhao City, Shandong Province, fishing boats have begun returning en masse with holiday catches.
"We brought in over 1,000 boxes of fish, including pomfret, hairtail, and mackerel. Prices are higher than previous years, and the fish are bigger too," said Wang Mai, boat owner.
At local seafood markets, the holiday shopping rush is in full swing as residents select from the day's fresh catch, preparing for festive meals.
Demand surges in China ahead of Mid-Autumn Festival, National Day holidays
