About 800 people from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan gathered in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu Province, to discuss cross-Straits industrial transformation, innovation and cooperation on December 16, 2025. Photo: Chu Daye/GT

Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu Province, has increased its support for Taiwan youth looking to start a business in the Chinese mainland in recent years, with positive outcomes achieved, the Global Times learned.

About 800 people from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan region gathered on Tuesday and Wednesday in Nanjing at the 2025 annual conference of the Cross-Strait CEO Summit, themed "Focusing on transformation and innovation, deepening multi-chain cooperation," according to a spokesperson of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council on Wednesday.

The Chinese mainland stands ready to help Taiwan businesses seize development opportunities presented by the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30), spokesperson Zhu Fenglian said on Wednesday, noting that the Chinese mainland will continue to improve policies and mechanisms to boost cross-Straits economic and cultural exchanges and cooperation to deepen integrated development.

One of the focal points of fostering cross-Straits economic cooperation has been how to help Taiwan youth who are looking to set up businesses in the mainland but have no clues.

To address the issue, the city has set up an incubator to help Taiwan youth to start businesses in an easier fashion.

Inside the N&T Youth Institute of Entrepreneurship, an incubator located in the south of the city, coffee parlors, meeting rooms, and innovation workshops are arranged side-by-side, and the walls are decorated with posters of young Taiwan entrepreneurs and their success stories in the mainland. The walks of trade of these entrepreneurs include culture and innovation, internet marketing, environmental protection and tourism, the Global Times learned.

Xu Jinping, general manager of the N&T Youth Institute of Entrepreneurship, talks to media on the sidelines of the 2025 annual conference of the Cross-Strait CEO Summit starting on December 17, 2025 in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu Province. Photo: Chu Daye/GT

"More than 60 meetings were arranged each year to help Taiwan youth find market opportunities, start a career and settle down in the mainland," Xu Jinping, general manager of the N&T Youth Institute of Entrepreneurship, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

"We hope the success stories of Taiwan youth in the mainland and in Nanjing will inspire more Taiwan youth to come here to try their luck," Xu said.

The issue of facilitating youth from Taiwan island to start businesses and find employment in the mainland has received an increasing amount of attention from major stakeholders across the Straits.

In a recent interview with the Global Times, Chou Hsi-wei, vice-chairman of Taiwan's Want Want Group, has called on major businesses on the mainland to create more opportunities for Taiwan youth.

"Many of the young people from Taiwan are intelligent and well-educated. If mainland companies could post job opportunities on information platforms on the island, providing island youth with the chance to do something and even have job interviews, it would be highly beneficial," Chou said.

Chueh Yu Hsuan, a social media influencer from Taiwan and an attendee at the summit, told the Global Times on Wednesday that she had built a channel to provide information for Taiwan youth who are interested in finding employment or starting a business in the mainland. "Real information about the mainland matters to Taiwan residents who have never come before but are interested in coming."

The city also set up an alliance of cross-Straits start-up incubators, attracting more than 30 member companies from across China and more than 300 Taiwan youth to start a business, promoting industrial integration and innovation between Nanjing and Taiwan, according to local officials.

Jiangsu is one of the key localities bearing witness to the deep cooperation between companies from both sides of the Taiwan Straits.

According to officials attending the summit, Jiangsu has cumulatively approved 32,000 projects with Taiwan investment and has attracted overall investment of $90 billion.

The province also accounts for about 20 percent of all of the mainland's trade with Taiwan island.

In recent years, the Chinese mainland has continued rolling out favorable policies to facilitate Taiwan compatriots doing business. For instance, the government of East China's Fujian Province earlier this month unveiled a package of 12 preferential policy measures for Taiwan compatriots, including support for opening Shaxian Delicacies restaurants and accessing funding and professional training.