An aerial photo taken on Aug 14, 2021 shows the project's construction. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The first phase of the largest cross-Straits petrochemicals industry project was put into production on Aug 18. It is expected to have an annual output value of more than 26 billion yuan ($4.01 billion).

Located in Gulei Port Economic Development Zone in Zhangzhou, Fujian province, the project was invested in and constructed jointly by Fujian Petrochemical Co and Xuteng Investment Co Ltd, which is based in Taiwan. The project focuses on the production of high-end chemical products, including polypropylene, ethylene glycol, and styrene.

The project will boost the integrated development of the petrochemicals industry on both sides of the Taiwan Straits. It will also provide high-quality raw materials for the middle and downstream deep processing industry clusters, as well as fuel the coordinated development of related industries.

The Gulei port economic development zone is one of the seven major petrochemicals industrial bases in the Chinese mainland, as well as the only Taiwan petrochemicals industrial park in the Chinese mainland.

Fujian has always been at the forefront of cross-Straits economic and trade cooperation. To date, Fujian is home to 11,000 Taiwan-funded enterprises and a total of 21,000 Taiwan-funded projects.

In the first half of this year, 702 Taiwan-funded enterprises were newly established in Fujian, a year-on-year increase of 24.9 percent, accounting for 24 percent of the number of newly-established Taiwan-funded enterprises in cities and provinces in the Chinese mainland.