The main conference of the 15th Straits Forum, a big gathering of the people from various fields across the Taiwan Straits, commenced on Saturday in the coastal city of Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province. 

It has attracted over 5,000 attendees, including representatives from multiple political parties and various sectors from Taiwan. Participants confirmed the importance of communication, as well as economic and cultural exchanges and cooperation across the Straits.

Andrew Hsia, vice chairman of the Chinese Kuomintang (KMT) party, said at the conference that the KMT will promote cross-Straits economic and cultural exchanges and cooperation, while working for cross-Straits peace and stability.

The KMT is committed to the political foundation of upholding the 1992 Consensus and opposing "Taiwan independence," he noted.

"I think the mainland is sending out good intentions as always. I would like to appeal to our compatriots in Taiwan to cherish it," Jin Chaoxin, a representative from the China Straits Economic and Trade Exchange Association told CGTN.

"We are all Chinese, so why should some people hold back? Aren't they happy to see the country prosper?" he asked.

Liao Yixiu, a representative of the Chinese Kuomintang Youth Workers' Federation, also told CGTN that she thinks the peaceful development of both sides across the Straits is currently the top priority. 

"Integrated development is of great importance to young people from Taiwan who come to the mainland to study and work," she noted.

President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, sent a congratulatory letter to the 15th Straits Forum on Saturday, calling for greater efforts to promote cross-Straits economic and cultural exchanges and cooperation. 

Xi expressed his hope in the letter that the forum will constantly inject vitality into people-to-people exchanges and the integrated development across the Straits. 

Addressing the main conference of the Straits Forum on Saturday, China's top political adviser Wang Huning called on people from both sides of the Taiwan Straits to strive for national rejuvenation and share the opportunities brought by Chinese modernization.

Prior to the conference, Wang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, met with the representatives of the guests from Taiwan.

The 15th Straits Forum was jointly held by the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, the Fujian provincial government and 82 institutions and organizations from across the Straits. 

Starting from 2009 in Fujian, the Straits Forum is the largest annual event across the Taiwan Straits and focuses on people-to-people exchanges.

(CGTN reporter Zhao Yunfei also contributed to the story.)