Mainland spokesperson says mutually beneficial cross-Strait cooperation unstoppable

BEIJING, July 22 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese mainland spokesperson on Wednesday stressed that no one can stop the exchanges and cooperation across the Taiwan Strait, or the mutually beneficial outcomes they bring.

Zhang Han, spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, made the comments at a regular press briefing in response to recent remarks of Cho Jung-tai, chief of the island's executive body.

Zhang noted that recent cross-Strait trade figures have fully proven the strong complementarity between the industrial structures across the Strait and the broad potential for further cooperation.

In the first half of 2026, trade across the Taiwan Strait reached 185 billion U.S. dollars. The Chinese mainland's imports from Taiwan rose 22.5 percent year on year to 133.1 billion dollars, while its exports to Taiwan grew 32.9 percent to 31.9 billion dollars.

Zhang reiterated that expanding economic and trade cooperation and deepening integrated development across the Strait serve the shared interests of businesses and people on both sides, adding that they are also the natural outcome of economic laws and market principles.