Pingtan in South China's Fujian province has become the first city in China to introduce advisors and mediators from Taiwan into its legal team, as the city looks to introduce a new system for solving disputes between Chinese mainland and Taiwan individuals and companies.

The new team contains a total of 19 legal advisors, 9 of which are from Taiwan, and 30 mediators, including 14 from Taiwan. Pingtan Comprehensive Pilot Zone People's Court and the Cross-Straits Arbitration Center issued letters of appointment to the team members on March 14.

As the closest Chinese mainland city to Taiwan, Pingtan has become a major cross-Straits business hub. More than 30,000 Taiwan residents have traveled to work in the city in recent years, including many young entrepreneurs coming to launch start-ups targeting the mainland market, making an efficient system for resolving cross-Straits disputes particularly important.

According to Li Fudian, president of the Taiwan Chinese Arbitration Association and one of the hired legal advisers, the new team will make a big difference in solving issues smoothly.

"It is a mild manner to solve the commercial or property disputes occurred between the companies or businessmen from the mainland and Taiwan through arbitration and mediation," said Li.

"Hiring cross-Straits legal experts as the legal advisers or mediators shall make it easier to solve cross-Straits civil and commercial disputes and advance cooperation in trade and legal affairs across the Taiwan Strait," he added.

The move is the latest in a series of measures Pingtan has taken to better protect Taiwan businesspeople and companies'lawful economic rights and interests in the city, which include the establishment of the Cross-Straits Arbitration Center in 2015.

Officials from Pingtan in South China's Fujian province set up a special working mechanism featuring employing cross-Straits legal experts as the legal advisers or mediators to solve the diversified cross-Straits civil and commercial disputes in the city. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]