Firms across Strait benefiting from cooperation

Helping more than a dozen Taiwan enterprises establish a foothold on the Chinese mainland, Hsu Yu-chieh, a Taiwan-born entrepreneur, has used her passion to bridge business development across the Taiwan Strait.

"If you operate solely in the Taiwan market, it's essentially relying on your own strength alone — like a person who may run fast, but can't go very far," Hsu said. "But by combining strengths across the Strait, you can build a competitive edge on the global stage."

Born in 1981, Hsu founded the Cross-Strait Star Industrial Accelerator in 2017 with the goal of helping Taiwan and foreign companies expand into the mainland market. The accelerator offers services including policy consultation, market matchmaking and capital support.

According to Hsu, the platform mainly targets high-end, cutting-edge technology sectors such as semiconductors, biomedicine, new materials and next-generation information technology.

Hsu said her understanding of the mainland market was shaped by her earlier experience working at a Taiwan subsidiary of a mainland internet company in the 2010s, which gave her firsthand exposure to the rapid growth of the mainland's internet industry.

"In 2017, I noticed that the mainland's internet sector was gaining strong momentum, with the government actively promoting innovation in advanced technologies,"Hsu said. "I felt there was notable complementarity in bringing talent and expertise from Taiwan to work with mainland industries to maximize value."

She noted that Taiwan is home to many talented startup founders, including hardware manufacturers, who are eager to enter the mainland market and gain broader support for development.

Starting in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, and later expanding to Beijing, Hsu initially focused on matching manufacturing resources on both sides of the Strait. She then began integrating cross-Strait manufacturing strengths with innovative capabilities on the mainland, including software development and emerging applications in the internet of things.

"Over the years, welfare benefits as well as laws and regulations for Taiwan compatriots and enterprises have been continuously improved and have become more well-established," she said.

In 2023, Beijing's Taiwan affairs office, together with the government of the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area, established a cross-Strait science and technology innovation center in the capital. With policy support, several semiconductor supply chain enterprises assisted by Hsu's company have since moved there.

Today, beyond helping companies from Taiwan and abroad achieve "soft landings" in the mainland market, Hsu is also exploring ways to use mainland resources and opportunities to enhance their competitiveness overseas.

"Taiwan companies can pursue overseas expansion in the Belt and Road Initiative by leveraging the mainland's trade cooperation agreements with the international community," she said.

Hsu added that through cross-Strait cooperation, Taiwan companies can gain greater opportunities to go global, as mainland industries benefit from scale advantages while Taiwan enterprises possess international experience.

Having witnessed the evolution of markets on both sides of the Strait over the years, Hsu said she feels honored to have been part of the process.

"For Taiwan enterprises and young people, it's worth learning about the relevant policies and regulations under the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) to see which industries they can participate in," she said.