China said it will resume travel to Taiwan for residents of its southeastern Fujian province, it said on meeting with Taiwanese opposition MPs Zhao Quan, China's Vice Minister of Culture and Tourism, reported the Japanese Kyodo Agency, quoted by BTA.
He met with Taiwanese lawmakers from the opposition Nationalist Party ahead of the May 20 inauguration of President-elect Lai Ching-te (also known as William Kai), whom Beijing considers a separatist.
The vice minister said Beijing would first resume travel by Fujian residents to Matsu, a remote group of Taiwanese islands, and then allow group tours to other parts of the self-governing territory after resuming ferry services between Pingtan County in Fujian and Taiwan. He added to the group, led by long-time opposition lawmaker Fu Kun-chi, that Beijing welcomes Taiwanese compatriots to visit the mainland for sightseeing and to see developments and changes there.
Since August 2019, the mainland has banned Chinese tourists, including residents of Fujian, from traveling to Taiwan amid deteriorating ties between governments on both sides of the strait, Kyodo recalled.
China's General Administration of Customs also said yesterday it would approve imports of pomelo and other agricultural and fishery products from Taiwan, provided they meet the mainland's quarantine requirements, Chinese state media Xinhua reported.