Pingtan has been the place most frequented by Chinese President Xi Jinping in his 17-year official tenure in Fujian province.

"China will further implement the opening-up policy in Pingtan, which is the 'right orientation'," he said in reply to Zheng Jianbang, a member of Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang (RCCK), who proposed that central authorities could roll out more preferential policies for Pingtan.

Xi was attending a group discussion on the sideline of the 12th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, China’s political advisory body, for members of RCCK, Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League and All-China Federation of Taiwan Compatriots.

The political advisors all agreed that the scale of cross-Straits personnel exchange set a new record in 2014, but with the political situation becoming increasingly sophisticated, all parties across the Straits will have greater resolutions and more concrete measures to continue to boost the ties.

Background: Xi Jinping and Pingtan

With a distance of 68 nautical miles, Pingtan is the closest place on the Chinese mainland to the island of Taiwan. It was approved as the country's first comprehensive experimental area that is opening up to Taiwan for communication and cooperation in 2009.

Xi, then the vice president of China, inspected Pingtan in September 2010. He praised Pingtan's development strategies, and urged Pingtan to be an innovative trailblazer in cross-Straits communications.

The President has visited Pingtan on 20 occasions during his 17-year official tenure in Fujian and has a strong attachment to it.

Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) shakes hands with staff members at a customs checkpoint in the Pingtan Comprehensive Pilot Zone in Fujian province, Nov 1, 2014. [Photo/Xinhua]

At a working symposium convened in Pingtan County on May 26, 1994, Xi, then the Party secretary of Fuzhou, shed light on the marine economy, saying it is going to be a new growth area of the Chinese economy.

He maintained caring for Pingtan when he worked as deputy Party secretary of Fujian Provincial Party Committee. He even wrote a congratulatory letter on the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Pingtan County No.1 Middle School on Sept 20, 2002.

Xi made his latest whirlwind inspection of Pingtan in a sensational fashion on Nov 1, 2014. Where he visited a number of engineering projects and sites, and urged local officials to continue to be innovative and to preserve the healthy cross-Straits business and industrial cooperation environment.

Endorsed by Xi, the provincial and central authorities, Pingtan has been leading the wave of cross-Straits integration in recent years. With the aim of becoming a "Common Homeland", Pingtan works hard to create a sound business environment and livable conditions for Taiwan people.