Updated

China says it is drafting policies to attract Taiwanese to live and work on the mainland, amid a deepening political standoff between the sides.

The Cabinet's Taiwan Affairs Office said Wednesday that residents of the self-governing island democracy will be offered incentives in employment, education and government benefits.

Spokesman An Fengshan said the measures aim to boost "economic and social integration between the sides."

Beijing froze diplomatic contacts with Taiwan in June over Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen's refusal to endorse the concept of a single Chinese nation. Since then, Beijing has been increasing diplomatic and economic pressure on the island it claims as its own.

The latest measures appear to represent the carrot to that stick, although previous attempts to win over Taiwanese through the pocketbook have had little effect.