Cooperation can boost cross-Strait integration

The Chinese mainland has pledged to expand cooperation and dialogue with Taiwan while advancing integrated development across the Taiwan Strait in 2026, according to authorities and experts.

In his New Year address on Wednesday, President Xi Jinping highlighted the deep blood bond between compatriots on both sides of the Strait, emphasizing that the historical trend toward national reunification is unstoppable.

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, said in a message on Friday that the mainland is committed to promoting peaceful development of cross-Strait relations and national reunification based on the one-China principle and the 1992 Consensus. Song added that the mainland will create more favorable conditions for Taiwan enterprises and individuals to develop on the mainland, further expanding exchanges this year.

He reaffirmed that the mainland will resolutely oppose "Taiwan independence" separatism and external interference with stronger measures.

Reflecting on 2025, Song described it as a year to remember history, marking the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) and Taiwan's restoration to China.

"It was also a year of overcoming challenges and building momentum toward reunification," Song said. He noted that policies facilitating visits last year led to a significant increase in travelers from Taiwan. The mainland also advanced high-quality demonstration zones for cross-Strait integrated development and implemented policies granting Taiwan enterprises and individuals equal treatment.

Song underscored the mainland's willingness to engage in dialogue and consultation with all political parties, groups and individuals in Taiwan on cross-Strait relations and national reunification, based on the one-China principle and the 1992 Consensus. "We will make every effort to pursue peaceful reunification, but allow no space for 'Taiwan independence' separatist activities," he said.

Chen Guiqing, a research fellow at the Institute of Taiwan Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said measures taken last year — ranging from legal actions against separatist forces to designating Oct 25 as a commemoration day for the restoration of Taiwan — have yielded results. Chen added that more people in Taiwan now recognize that national reunification is inevitable and that the path of "Taiwan independence" leads to a dead end.

In Taiwan, Cheng Li-wun, chairwoman of the Chinese Kuomintang party, recently stressed the importance of dialogue in the new year, urging the Democratic Progressive Party authorities to accept the 1992 Consensus and oppose "Taiwan independence".

Hung Hsiu-chu, a former chairwoman of KMT, wrote on social media on Thursday that the "turbulence of 2025" helped more people see that cross-Strait relations represent the shared future of people on both sides. Also on Thursday, Chen Binhua, spokesman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, criticized recent remarks by Taiwan leader Lai Ching-te, saying they were filled with hostility and falsehoods and had exacerbated tensions across the Taiwan Strait.

lishangyi@chinadaily.com.cn