Три канала связи между материковым Китаем и Тайванем

Chinese 1979 foreign policy proposal
The Three Links or Three Linkages was a 1979 proposal from the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (PRC) to open up postal , transportation (especially airline) , and trade links between Mainland China and Taiwan, with the goal of unifying Mainland China and Taiwan. Before the establishment of the "Three Links", communication between the two sides were routed through intermediate destinations, primarily Hong Kong; Macau; Jeju, South Korea and Ishigaki, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. The "Three Links" were officially established on 15 December 2008, with the commencement of direct flights, shipping and post.

In December 1978, after Deng Xiaoping and his supporters won the 3rd Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, it started China's economic reform. This also began a new direction in the PRC's foreign policy. On January 1, 1979, Beijing proposed the Three Links of postal, commercial and transportation. The PRC government considers the cross strait flights as domestic flights, according to the One China Policy. However, the ROC's Democratic Progressive Party government in Taiwan regarded this position the same as recognizing Taiwan (ROC) as a part of the PRC and thus would compromise the ROC sovereignty. The previous administration led by President Chen Shui bian, who was in power from 2000 to 2008, was keen to establish direct links under his "four noes and one without" pledge. China reacted with caution however, and was eventually infuriated when Chen spoke of "Taiwan and China on each side of the Taiwan Strait, each side is a country", and the Taiwanese administration believed establishment of the links would not be possible. However, China eventually shifted its position when it realized that the three links may be an opportunity to hold on to Taiwan, with its Minister of Transport and former Minister of Foreign Affairs Qian Qichen declaring that the "one China" principle would no longer be necessary during talks to establish the links, which would be labelled merely as "special cross strait flights" and not "international" nor "domestic" flights. In 2004, Beijing proposed a cross strait controlled access highway project linking Beijing to Taipei connecting the two sides of the Taiwan Straits together. However, due to the potential technical difficulties, some people in Taipei consider this move as political propaganda. The Three Links are mentioned in the Anti Secession Law of the People's Republic of China.

Full restoration of the Three Links officially commenced on 15 December 2008, with inaugural direct shipping, direct flights, and direct mail. On August 31, 2009, the number of flights between China and Taiwan increased to 270. They no longer had to bypass Hong Kong airspace and also were no longer all operating as chartered flights; i. e., a large number of regular scheduled flights began across the Taiwan Strait out of 25 Chinese airports.

Gradual liberalization has paved the way for direct cooperation between airlines from both sides. China Southern Airlines and China Airlines announced their intention to seal a strategic cooperation contract on 23 June 2008 for cooperation on the weekend chartered flights, soon after the announcement of their liberalization. Officials from each of the three largest Chinese airlines also flew to Taiwan with attempts to negotiate with Taiwanese airlines on cooperation deals, with likely cooperation between all parties in areas including marketing, ground services, maintenance and airline catering. The impending competition also prompted the main Chinese airlines to embark on a publicity blitz, highlighting their intentions to provide their best aircraft, crew and service to passengers, including customized in flight meals to suit tastes from both sides. Announced ticket prices for the first flights were shown to be almost similar to those requiring a stopover, negating expectations of the direct flights depressing ticket prices except on the Xiamen Taipei route. This was due to high fuel costs, but prices were not expected to rise further.

In December 2015, the Huangqi Matsu ship route was introduced as part of the Mini Three Links.