Taiwan, China to Begin Trade Pact Talks in December

(Bloomberg – Janet Ong)

Taiwan and China will begin talks on a trade agreement in December as the island seeks to revive its economy and the government in Beijing aims for extra leverage over its counterpart in Taipei. The accord will be discussed at cross-strait negotiations on cooperation in the fishing industry, certification of agricultural and industrial goods and double taxation, said Ma Shao-chang, deputy secretary-general of Taiwan’s Straits Exchange Foundation.

“We will be signing agreements on the four items and will exchange views on the trade agreement at the talks in Taichung, central Taiwan,” Ma said by telephone today. “But there won’t be any signing of a trade accord at this stage.”

Cross-strait dialogue resumed last year, following a nine-year hiatus, after President Ma Ying-jeou abandoned his predecessor’s pro-independence stance. The island is seeking closer ties with the mainland to support an economy that may contract at a record pace this year on declining exports and investment.

Zheng Lizhong, deputy head of the Beijing-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait, unexpectedly flew into Taipei today for talks with his Taiwanese counterpart Kao Koong- lian to complete details of the meeting, due to be held in the second-half of December, Ma said. Officials met in Hangzhou in eastern China last month to arrange the talks. Read more here.