TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan is adding 10 destinations in China to the five already serviced by regular flights, following an evaluation of the COVID-19 situation, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) announced on Thursday (March 9).

The measure will commence on Friday (March 10) for both passenger and cargo flights, the Liberty Times reported. Regular flights between Taiwan and Shanghai Pudong, Shanghai Hongqiao, Beijing, Xiamen, and Chengdu continued during the pandemic, but the MAC is adding Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Nanjing, Chongqing, Fuzhou, Hangzhou, Qingdao, Wuhan, Ningbo, and Zhengzhou.

The main focus is to facilitate travel between Taiwan and parts of China for Taiwanese investors and business people, according to the MAC Spokesperson Chan Chih-hung (詹志宏). For 13 other airports in China, the Ministry of Transportation will soon reveal how operators can apply for charter flights.

Chan said the restoration of flights corresponded to a promise in President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文)'s 2022 National Day Address to gradually restore cross-strait exchanges in the post-COVID era.

The decision takes recent suggestions from China into account, demonstrating Taiwan’s goodwill, said the MAC spokesperson. In January 2023, ferry services between Taiwan’s outlying islands and the Chinese city of Xiamen were also restored.