GUANGZHOU: Shantou, one of the three economic special zones in Guangdong province, will strengthen economic ties with Taiwan to boost its overall development, a local official said.

"We have introduced a series of measures to boost cooperation with Taiwan," Huang Zhiguang, Shantou Party chief, told China Daily during the Guangdong provincial people's congress, which ends today in the provincial capital of Guangzhou.

Shantou, the closest city in Guangdong to Taiwan in the east, was approved last year as one of the mainland ports to open direct shipping service to the island.