The Pingtan Comprehensive Pilot Zone, in Fujian province, will house the Taiwan Businessmen's Association, during the Common Homeland Forum next week, the zone's administration has reported.

Over the past few years, Pingtan, which was the mainland's first economic zone to open to Taiwan, has seen a sharp increase in investment from Taiwan and the forum, which runs June 16 – 18, is expected to give its development a boost through more direct cross-Straits cooperation.

Tao Juncheng, a Taiwanese businessmen who specializes in green agriculture, is just one example of the thousands of business people who have grown more optimistic about Pingtan's development outlook. He runs a green agriculture operation on a 66,667-square-meter piece of ground in Pingtan where he has introduced a number of Taiwanese trees and fruit species, such as buta-buta and dragon fruit, to contribute to Pingtan's variety.

By June 9, Pingtan had 109 Taiwan-backed enterprises, local officials report, with aggregate investment by Taiwan's enterprises worth $318 million, as of April, for a 27.5-fold increase over four years ago.

This investment environment can be attributed to preferential policies the zone gets from the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, including simplified registration procedures, rights protections, and better industrial and commercial management. Many of the Taiwan businesses have intentions to invest in Pingtan, Tao said, which shows they're becoming more confident in its development.

Edited by Chen Zhilin and Roger Bradshaw