Communication and cooperation across the Taiwan Strait have contributed to technical innovation in water and soil conservation, Tian Xuebin, vice-minister of water resources and president of the Chinese Society of Soil and Water Conservation, said at the 18th cross-Strait seminar on water and soil conservation, which opened in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, on Tuesday.

This session of the seminar, jointly organized by soil and water conservation societies on both sides, focuses on the goal of rural development.

Both the intensity of soil erosion and affected lands have decreased in China continuously in the past decade. Work on water and soil conservation has been linked with rural areas and high quality development of agriculture, he said.

At a time of rural revitalization, the cross-Strait goal in water and soil conservation is to realize harmonious coexistence of humans and nature, sustainable economic and social development, and favorable circulation in the ecological system, said Hsu Chung-li, president of the society of soil and water conservation in Taiwan.

More cross-Strait exchanges and cooperation in this field are anticipated in the future, he said.