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The Taiwan Strait Tunnel Project is a proposed undersea tunnel to connect Pingtan in Mainland China to Hsinchu in Taiwan as part of the G3 Beijing–Taipei Expressway. First proposed in 1996, the project has since been subject to a number of academic discussions and feasibility studies, including by the China Railway Engineering Corporation. The route between Pingtan and Hsinchu was chosen because of its short distance (compared to other proposed routes) and its relative geological stability (in a region frequented by earthquakes). One expert from the Chinese Academy of Engineering suggested in 2005 that the Taiwan Strait Tunnel Project was one of five major undersea tunnel projects under consideration for the next twenty to thirty years.
Currently, the project is not considered viable due lack of interest from the Taiwanese, staggering costs and unsolved technical problems. At nearly 150 km, the proposed tunnel would be nearly three times longer than the Channel Tunnel. In addition, Taiwan is concerned about the tunnel's potential use by China in aggressive military actions. Nonetheless, in July 2013, the Chinese State Council approved plans for the project, although this "approval" is practically meaningless. Construction would still require approval by the Taiwanese government, which is highly unlikely. Therefore, it is likely that, if the tunnel would be constructed, this would happen only after a possible Chinese unification.