Beijing could incentivise Taiwan to reunite with the Chinese mainland by learning from German policies adopted after the fall of the Berlin Wall, a Chinese government adviser told a security forum on Wednesday.

Zheng Yongnian, a political-science professor from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, said Beijing could consider steps such as financial support and unconditional citizenship for Taiwan residents.

He hinted that mainland China had the means to adopt measures similar to some of Germany’s post-reunification policies, such as a “solidarity tax” and exchange rate parity.

He told the Xiangshan forum in Beijing that when the East adopted the Deutschmark months before reunification, the East German mark was worth far less than the West’s currency “but they treated one East mark as equal to one West mark – that gave many ordinary [East German] people incentives to side with West Germany”.

He added: “The current exchange rate between the Chinese yuan and the New Taiwan dollar is roughly one to four, and I think that could work.”

He also cited the German government’s nationwide “solidarity tax” – initially 7.5 per cent, later 5.5 per cent – on income and corporate taxes to fund infrastructure and integration, hinting that mainland China could adopt a similar approach.