TAIPEI, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- A cooperation forum between Nantou County in Taiwan and Hangzhou, the capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, opened in Nantou Friday, highlighting the tea industry, tourism, cultural and youth development.

The annual forum, named after the scenic landmarks of West Lake in Hangzhou and Sun Moon Lake in Nantou, was founded in 2009.

At this year's forum, scholars, experts, entrepreneurs, and young representatives from Hangzhou and Nantou participated in in-depth discussions on topics such as the tea industry's role in urban development, integration of culture and tourism, intangible cultural heritage preservation and development, youth entrepreneurship and employment in rural areas.

Nantou County Magistrate Hsu Shu-hua told the media that the forum has greatly benefited the tourism industry and image promotion of both Nantou and Hangzhou.

Hsu also expressed interest in leveraging Hangzhou's rapidly growing e-commerce industry to expand the market for Nantou's agricultural products.

Noting that through the joint efforts over the past 16 years, the forum has become a model of cross-Strait exchange and cooperation, Xu Weihua, vice mayor of Hangzhou, said that he hopes that Hangzhou and Nantou can deepen collaboration across fields and unlock each other's potentials, so that new platforms for people-to-people exchanges will be built, channels for mutually-beneficial industry cooperation to be formed, and a new stage for youth to pursue and achieve their dreams will be opened.

Hangzhou brought three cases of intangible cultural heritage protection and innovative development to the forum and is looking forward to meaningful exchanges with counterparts in Nantou, said Chen Bin, an official of Hangzhou's cultural and tourism department.

"Hangzhou and Nantou share many commonalities and complementary strengths. People from Taiwan, including young people, are welcome to visit, tour, study, and start careers in Hangzhou," he said.