Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

Since Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan's new leader who advocates "Taiwan independence," assumed office in May, containing separatist activities in all kinds of forms has become the most crucial task in the mainland's Taiwan policy in the coming four years. Among all the cards in the hands of the mainland, promoting economic integration across the Straits is one of the most effective measures.

There is no way that the island can take the risk of suspending its economic and trade ties with the Chinese mainland. For the moment, the mainland is Taiwan's top trading partner, accounting for around 40 percent of Taiwan's entire trade volume, while cross-Straits trade with the island only takes up 0.7 percent of the mainland's trade volume. If such trade breaks off, it would turn out to be a devastating blow to Taiwan's "shallow-dish" economy.

If the economies across the Straits are not integrated, Taiwan could be excluded from the entire regional economic integration. The "One China" policy is widely recognized by the world. No country could possibly sign any free trade agreement with Taiwan unless it was permitted by the Chinese mainland.

History has proved that increasingly close economic ties across the Straits have effectively restricted independence movement on the island. During Lee Teng-hui and Chen Shui-bian's "presidencies," Taiwan's businessmen have played a role as lubricant and stabilizer of the cross-Straits relationship.

Every time when major separatist activities on the island evoked tensions across the Straits, Taiwan residents, especially businessmen, would pile some serious pressure on those activists. The reason Tsai lost her bid in the 2012 election was because many entrepreneurs stepped up to stress the importance of the 1992 Consensus as well as trade ties between the two sides.

The pro-independence forces in Taiwan have also realized the constraining force of cross-Straits trade relations to Taiwan independence. That's why they constantly accuse the mainland of trying to annex the island economically.

Lee's "no haste, be patient" theory, Chen's "active management, effective opening" plan as well as Tsai's proposal of a "New Go South" policy are all aimed at reducing Taiwan's economic reliance on the mainland and weakening the impact of cross-Straits economic integration on Taiwan independence movement.

However, no matter what measures Taiwan's administration carries out to impose restrictions on its trade ties with the mainland, or how it finds fault with the economic cooperation, the course of cross-Straits economic integration will not be changed, because no other market will ever be as huge and as friendly as the mainland.

In the meantime, the development of cross-Straits relations from 2008 to 2016 has taught us that it is impossible to achieve political reunification between the two sides only through economic integration. Brexit shows that even in the EU, a bloc that has already integrated its economy, there are still many variables in terms of future development. It is hence unclear whether political unification can be achieved through economic integration.

Apart from that, certain businessmen are now benefiting from the cross-Straits economic integration, yet are providing aid to pro-independence forces at the same time. On that score, while we attach importance to the role of trade, we should not solely rely on economic integration to realize national reunification.

The mainland leadership's political determination and its strength will be more crucial to realizing peaceful reunification across the Straits in the end.

The author is an assistant research fellow at the Institute of Taiwan Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn