The 11th Straits Forum has just opened in the southeastern Chinese city of Xiamen. It's gathered officials, experts and young entrepreneurs from both sides of the Taiwan Straits. Facilitating young people from Taiwan to work on the Chinese Mainland has been one of the priorities. Here's CGTN's Li Jianhua with more.

Joining hands, young entrepreneurs from Taiwan, seeking to expand their presence on the Chinese mainland.

Preferential policies are being offered to them in various fields, including education, entrepreneurship and job seeking. Case in point is Lin Zonglong, who came to the mainland in 2007 and started his own business in 2016.

LIN ZONGLONG TAIWAN ENTREPRENEUR "During my father's generation, the biggest preferential policy was tax cuts. But now, there are more. As long as you are really working here and paying the tax, you get allowances for housing, start-up capital, and office facilities."

This year, more than 10-thousand people from Taiwan are here in the hope of finding more job opportunities.

ZHONG ZHIGANG DEPUTY-DIRECTOR, STRAITS FORUM COMMITTEE "The Straits Forum was initiated by the people at grassroots level with the feature of inclusiveness. It has been very popular among people on both sides of the Taiwan Straits. The forum is irreplaceable, as it also serves to facilitate the exchanges and deep cooperation between people from both sides of the straits."

The theme of this year's event centers on expanding exchanges and deepening integration and development.

This falls in line with a speech given by President Xi Jinping in January on the 40th anniversary of the mainland's "Message to Compatriots in Taiwan", which called for "national reunification" and more "all-round exchanges."

WANG YANG MEMBER OF STANDING COMMITTEE OF POLITICAL BUREAU OF CPC CENTRAL COMMITTEE "Many Taiwan compatriots, weathering all difficulties, come to the Mainland to pursue their dreams. With the participation of Taiwan compatriots, the force to achieve China's national rejuvenation will be stronger, which will be beneficial to the Taiwan compatriots, giving them more room to develop. And Taiwan compatriots will enjoy higher status on the international stage."

The trade volume between the Mainland and Taiwan hit 200 billion U.S. dollars in 2018 and about half a million people from Taiwan were working on the Mainland last year.

LI JIANHUA XIAMEN "An increasing number of young people from Taiwan are crossing the straits and settling down here in Xiamen, where preferential policies are provided. Despite the challenges they have to deal with, including a different legal system and a different work environment, they're looking to succeed on the Chinese Mainland. And the annual Straits Forum is offering them a platform to further connect with others from around China. LJH, CGTN, XIAMEN."