Taiwan to discuss trade agreement with China
Associated Press | 18 April 2009
Taiwan to discuss trade agreement with China
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) - Taiwan will discuss a partial free trade agreement with China and sign pacts to enhance economic cooperation during high-level talks in late April, negotiators said Saturday.
President Ma Ying-jeou has worked aggressively since taking office last May to turn a corner on his predecessor’s anti-China policy and improve economic and trade ties with the mainland.
He has made a partial free trade agreement with Beijing a top goal this year, and has argued it would help Taiwan maintain its competitive edge in the region.
Negotiator Ma Shao-chang told reporters that the two sides would exchange opinions on an agreement during high-level talks April 26 in the southern Chinese city of Nanjing. He is deputy secretary-general of Taiwan’s semiofficial Straits Exchange Foundation, which is responsible for conducting talks with China.
The agreement would permit the free flow of many goods, services and capital across the 100-mile (160-kilometer) -wide Taiwan Strait. However, key items such as agricultural produce would be exempt, largely as a concession to Taiwanese farmers.
Kao Koong-lian, the foundation’s vice chairman, said the two sides would also sign pacts to increase the number of regular airplane flights, allow banks to establish branches on both sides, and cooperate on cross-border criminal investigations.
Taiwanese officials have said the island will announce an initiative that would allow Chinese companies to invest in Taiwan.
Kao made the statement after representatives of the two sides discussed arrangements for the negotiations, the third round of high-level talks since President Ma took office.
Chinese negotiator Zheng Lizhong said the partial free trade agreement "will help Taiwan enhance its competitiveness," but did not comment on when the two sides would discuss and sign the pact.
Taiwan and China split amid civil war in 1949, but Beijing continues to claim the island as part of its territory.
