Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, has called both sides across the Taiwan Strait a "community of shared destiny that cannot be prised apart."
Xi made the remarks in a congratulatory letter, made public on May 24, to the Association of Taiwan Investment Enterprises on the Mainland (ATIEM) on its 10th anniversary.
The Chinese mainland has become a popular destination for Taiwan compatriots to invest, start businesses and live since the 1980s, when the door between the two sides was reopened, Xi said.
Economy on either side is an integral part of economy of the Chinese nation, he said in the letter.
It is the common aspiration of compatriots on both sides to improve their well-being and kinship and take national destiny into their own hands, he added.
"We are willing to share the mainland's development opportunities with Taiwan compatriots first, and welcome Taiwan compatriots to invest here," Xi said.
The mainland will continue to make it easier for Taiwan compatriots to study, work, start businesses and live on the mainland, said Xi, promising concrete measures to protect their rights and interests.
Xi expressed his hope that ATIEM will continue to adhere to the one-China principle, unite Taiwan compatriots and contribute to peaceful development of cross-Strait relations and the great revival of the Chinese nation.
The congratulatory note shows that Xi attaches great importance to ATIEM and Taiwan business people, and it has pointed the direction for ATIEM development, said Yu Zhengsheng, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
"We'll continue to uphold the 1992 Consensus and firmly fight 'Taiwan independence,' deepen economic and social integration across the Strait, and boost the well-being of people on both sides," Yu said while meeting with Taiwan business representatives to attend the anniversary celebration Wednesday in Beijing.
Taiwan compatriots are welcome aboard the "express train" of the mainland's development, said Yu, pledging to offer favorable measures to Taiwan enterprises on the mainland.
Yu called on ATIEM and Taiwan business people to adhere to the one-China principle, unite Taiwan compatriots, and make greater contributions to peaceful development of cross-Strait relations, the economic and social integration of the two sides, and the great revival of the Chinese nation.
More than 400 people, including Chen Deming, president of the mainland-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits, attended the celebration.
Xi's letter was read at the celebration by Zhang Zhijun, head of both the Taiwan Work Office of the CPC Central Committee and the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council.
Founded in 2007, ATIEM is a non-profit social organization and consists of around 300 Taiwanese-funded enterprises and their associations on the mainland.
