In his address to the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China,Hu Jintao, President of China and General Secretary of CPC Central Committee lays down as a key policy initiative the state's "support for economic development on the West Coast of the Taiwan Straits and in other areas with intensive investments by businesspeople from Taiwan." With President Hu's proclamation, Fujian's efforts to turn itself and its neighboring areas into "the Economic Zone on the West Coast of the Taiwan Straits" have received the central government's official endorsement and are now part of China's grand strategies for national development. The Province's economy is thus ushering in an even more vigorous new phase in its steady and rapid growth.

"The Economic Zone on the West Coast of the Taiwan Straits" (henceforth abbreviated as WTSEZ) refers to a regional economic complex that has emerged on the mainland side of the Taiwan Straits. Centering on the Province of Fujian and extending to adjacent areas in neighboring provinces, WTSEZ is endowed by its self-inclusive location with unique features and special advantages. In recognition of WTSEZ's unusual capacity for growth, some 50 ministries of the state and state-owned enterprises have committed themselves to its construction either by granting special policies to or by earmarking major projects for Fujian, the main body of the Economic Zone. Their support adds significantly to Fujian's potentials for development, further sharpening the competitive edge it has been enjoying as a destination for investment.

Unique Geographical Advantage Located in the coastal areas of Southeastern China, Fujian faces Taiwan to the east and is within easy reach of Hong Kong and Macao. It adjoins the two most developed regions in the country, i.e., the Yangtze River Delta to its North and the Pearl River Delta to its South. And it has Jiangxi and another five provinces in China's central region as its close neighbors. As such, Fujian has always been a major business center in this part of the world. In ancient times, it was the point of departure for the legendary "Silk Road on the Sea." Nowadays, it serves as one of China's main windows on the Asian-Pacific areas.

Unique Advantage in Human and Cultural Resources Fujian is the land of ancestry for a huge portion of the overseas Chinese and for the majority of the Chinese compatriots in Taiwan. The Province itself has a population of 35.81 million currently, yet over 80% of Taiwan's population, about 1.2 million residents in Hong Kong and Macao, and as many as 12.6 million overseas Chinese claim Fujian as their fatherland or even place of birth.

Unique Advantage in Natural Resources A coastal province with a mountainous hinterland, Fujian covers a land and a sea area of 121,400 and 136,000 square kilometers respectively and enjoys an especially abundant endowment of natural resources. Its mainland coastal line extends 3,752 kilometers, ranking second nationally in length. This natural endowment enables the Province to become a well-known center of marine cultivation in China. As much as 63% of Fujian's land is covered with trees, making it the greenest province and one of the four centers of forestry industry in China. Its coastal areas are rich in geothermal resources, with exploitable underground hot-springs found in many places. It has a huge store of wind energy, available for utilization for 7,000 to 8,000 hours per year. It is also rich in resources of water and tidal energy. When fully exploited, its total installed capacity of water-generated electrical power would top all provinces in Eastern China and its production of tidal power would reach 10 million KW, about 40% of China's total store of tidal energy.