Top negotiators from Taiwan and China plan to meet later this year for talks on a free trade agreement-like deal that would bring the two economies closer, a ruling party official said yesterday.
The negotiators will meet in Taiwan to talk about the economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) after the nation holds local elections in early December, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Secretary-General Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) said.
PROPOSED DEAL
The proposed deal would cut tariffs and allow a freer flow of goods between Taiwan, where the economy is sagging, and economic powerhouse China, the government has said.
“The talks will be an exchange of ideas with financial topics in the lead,” Wu said in an interview. “The question of ECFA will be discussed in its initial stages.”
The trade deal is crucial to keeping Taiwan competitive with other Asian economies that have signed similar deals with China, supporters said, but opponents say the deal could make the nation too dependent on its larger neighbor.
FOURTH MEETING
Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤) from the Straits Exchange Foundation and his Chinese counterpart Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) will lead the two sides for the talks in December, their fourth meeting since President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) took office in May last year.
The People’s Republic of China has claimed sovereignty over Taiwan since 1949, when Mao Zedong’s (毛澤東) Communists won the Chinese civil war and Chiang Kai-shek’s (蔣介石) KMT fled to Taiwan. Beijing has vowed to bring Taiwan under its rule, by force if necessary.
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