The Chinese character "融", ronɡ in pinyin, was chosen as the 2023 annual character across the Taiwan Strait.

The character refers to the integrated development of the Chinese mainland and Taiwan. The mainland issued a policy in September to support Fujian province to build a demonstration zone for the integrated development across the Taiwan Strait.

About 15 million netizens from both sides of Strait participated in the voting process from Nov 21 to Dec 6, which was jointly organized by institutions from both sides.

The results were recently announced in Taipei, and some calligraphers from Taiwan wrote the character in various calligraphy styles.

Zhu Fenglian, a spokeswoman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, said on Wednesday in Beijing that: "The character represents the heartfelt desire of compatriots on both sides to achieve peace, development, communication and cooperation."

She expressed hope that compatriots from both sides will work together to deepen the integrated development, and share the dividends of a harmonious cross-Strait relationship.