China's President Xi Jinping, in speaking about cross-Straits cultural exchanges on March 4, singled out Hokkien, or Minnan, culture, as one area that can play a bigger role.

Most people who moved from the mainland to Taiwan were mainly from southern Fujian province and speak the Hokkien dialect and have close kinship and cultural roots, he said.

Xi made the remark during a group discussion on the sideline of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, China’s political advisory body, for members of the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang, Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League and All-China Federation of Taiwan Compatriots.