Taiwan plans to propose that an investment guarantee agreement with China be signed at the APEC ministerial-level meeting in June, it was reported yesterday.
It was the "core issue" discussed at a meeting chaired by President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) on Saturday that gathered advisers and specialists on relations with Beijing, a local newspaper said.
However, observers said China may not back away from its line of refusing to ink the accord with Taiwan.
China alleged its existing law was sufficient to ensure the interests of Taiwanese investment there.
The report said the proposal was part of Chen's efforts to normalize economic and trade ties with China, taking advantage of APEC and expected entry into the WTO by the two sides.
Beijing in 1995 called off the rapprochement talks after the landmark US visit by then-president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), claiming it was part of Taipei's bid to split from the "motherland."
The newspaper report came as the Chen administration was considering lifting a ban on China-bound investment projects worth more than US$50 million under the so-called "no haste, be patient" (
The policy, which bans high-tech investments and major ventures, was introduced in 1996 by Lee in response to Beijing's saber-rattling in the Taiwan Strait.
However appeals for a review of the policy have been growing.
Taiwanese investment in China, largely made via Hong Kong, has reached an estimated US$70 billion since Taiwan allowed civil exchanges with China in late 1987, according to an unofficial estimate from Taiwan's central bank.
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