In addition to restructuring portions of the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office—the agency tasked with overseeing cross-strait policy—China has established a dedicated department designed exclusively to facilitate mainland education, student matriculation, and entrepreneurial startups for Taiwanese citizens. The strategic institutional adjustment is widely interpreted as a proactive, long-term policy initiative aimed at laying the socioeconomic groundwork for cross-strait unification.

		0
A view of a regular press briefing at the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council in Beijing, China. The agency tasked with managing cross-strait affairs has recently undergone a structural reorganization. / Photo via Xinhua News Agency

According to Beijing sources well-versed in cross-strait affairs on May 29, the Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) recently executed an internal reorganization, transitioning its 12 functional bureaus into a numerical system and newly establishing the 10th Bureau to exclusively oversee mainland education, internships, employment, and entrepreneurship initiatives for Taiwanese residents.

Under the restructured framework, the former Secretariat was designated as the 1st Bureau, the General Affairs Bureau as the 2nd Bureau, the Research Bureau as the 3rd Bureau, and the Information Bureau as the 4th Bureau. Concurrently, the Economic Bureau was renamed the 5th Bureau, the Hong Kong and Macao Taiwan Affairs Bureau became the 6th Bureau, the Exchange Bureau shifted to the 7th Bureau, and the Liaison Bureau was repurposed as the 8th Bureau.

Furthermore, the previous Legal Affairs Bureau and the Petition Coordination Bureau were integrated to form the 9th Bureau, while the Political Parties Bureau was reclassified as the 11th Bureau. Consequently, the Institutional Party Committee (Personnel Bureau) stands as the solitary entity retaining its traditional functional designation.

Commenting on the internal restructuring, the Taiwan Affairs Office stated, "This represents a routine administrative adjustment driven by operational requirements. Under these evolving dynamics, we will thoroughly implement General Secretary and President Xi Jinping’s critical discourses on Taiwan-related affairs alongside the Party's comprehensive strategy for resolving the Taiwan question in the new era. We will steadfastly execute the Taiwan policy decisions mandated by the Party Central Committee to systematically advance our cross-strait work."

Elaborating on the newly minted 10th Bureau, the agency added, "The department will ensure that our Taiwanese compatriots can more effectively share in the strategic opportunities of Chinese-style modernization and collectively enjoy the developmental milestones achieved on the mainland."

This structural reorganization comes at a time when Beijing has been rolling out an array of preferential policies aimed at accelerating the influx of Taiwanese youth, entrepreneurs, and skilled professionals into the mainland. The institutional adjustment is interpreted as a calculated measure to systematically manage services and support mechanisms for Taiwanese residents through a permanent administrative body. The move aligns seamlessly with the economic cooperation framework with Taiwan unveiled by China earlier this year in its 15th Five-Year Plan (2026–2030).

During that policy rollout, the Chinese government pledged to guarantee equal treatment for Taiwanese residents studying, working, or living on the mainland, while reinforcing its commitment to normalizing cross-strait tourism exchanges. This rapid institutional shift effectively underscores Beijing’s resolve to materialize those state promises through concrete administrative action.

                                                                                                            Hong Soon-do