Pingtan was historically a transit point in the southeast coast for cross-Straits trade and maritime commerce. During the reign of Emperor Xianfeng (1851-1861) of the Qing Dynasty, it was one of the five ports in Fujian to be opened for cross-Straits trade. As Pingtan Island is the closest part of the Chinese mainland to Taiwan, the Beijing-Taipei Expressway under construction has both its terminal of the mainland section and the north entry of the undersea tunnel set in Pingtan.

Pingtan Comprehensive Pilot Zone was officially established in July 2009 as a window of cross-Straits cooperation and national opening up efforts. Pingtan Area, one of the three areas of China (Fujian) Pilot Free Trade Zone, focuses on building a common home for both sides of the Taiwan Straits and an international tourism island. In December 2015, Pingtan announced the initiation of building International Tourism Island.

Double bridge of Pingtan Strait Bridge