Taiwan

Mainland, Taiwan to sign landmark trade deal

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-06-24 13:19

TAIPEI - The fifth round of talks between the mainland's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) and Taiwan counterpart Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) will be held in Chongqing, in southwest China, on June 29.

SEF Vice Chairman Kao Koong-lian announced this Thursday, saying the consensus was reached at a preparatory consultation held here between the ARATS and SEF Thursday morning to fix the details for the coming fifth cross-Strait talks.

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At the talks, the two sides are expected to reach an Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) and an agreement on intellectual property protection.

The ARATS executive Vice President Zheng Lizhong and SEF Vice Chairman Kao Koong-lian attended the consultation.

The consultation aims to fix the date and place for the fifth talks as well as the last details of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) and a pact on intellectual property protection, said Zheng Lizhong, who headed the mainland delegation at the meeting.

"The discussion of the two agreements have reached the critical and final stage," Zheng said.

The ECFA will be a landmark for cross-Strait relations, signaling a new stage in the ARATS-SEF talks, he said.

ECFA discussions have progressed well, with both sides respecting each other, he said.

The mainland has not pressured Taiwan to lift trade barriers against imports of its farm produce nor required the island to open its labor market. The mainland agreed to allow the import of more duty-free farm produce from Taiwan and include preferential treatment for Taiwan's small business to enter the mainland market, Zheng said.

The mainland has agreed to open its market for some industries in Taiwan in commodity trade and open some of its service sectors, he said.

The two sides have agreed to reduce the trade and investment barriers under the WTO rules, based on each other's economic conditions, he said.

They also agreed to reduce the duties on some commodities, he said.

However, Zheng said, "the ECFA is only the first step for economic cooperation and will not settle all the problems that the mainland and Taiwan businesses face. More work still need to be done after the agreement is signed."

Kao Koong-lian, SEF vice chairman, heading the Taiwan delegation, said the ECFA and intellectual property protection agreement will be the most important pacts for cross-Strait economic cooperation in the future.

"The ECFA is a comprehensive and complicated pact. That's why it has taken such a long time to discuss. Now the two sides have made concrete progress," Kao said.

The ECFA is of great significance to Taiwan as it will help sharpen the competitive edge of Taiwan companies, boost exports, attract more investment and promote employment, he said.

It will also set up a systematic mechanism for cross-Strait economic cooperation, he said.

The ARATS and SEF have held three rounds of expert-level talks on the ECFA since January.