Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤) yesterday said he was optimistic that a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on cross-strait financial supervision with China could be inked at the third round of cross-strait negotiations next year.
The MOU, a prelude to enhancing financial sector exchanges, was not among the four agreements the SEF inked with the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) on Tuesday.
The agreements were on cross-strait aviation routes, sea transportation links, postal service and a food safety mechanism.
“There’s been a great deal of cross-strait investment and trade exchanges, but we are not able to promptly address financial issues for various reasons,” Chiang said at a cross-strait financial forum at the Grand Hotel in Taipei.
The forum, along with another on cross-strait transportation, was one of the activities on the third day of this week’s cross-strait negotiations between the SEF and ARATS.
Chiang said the SEF and ARATS reached a consensus that the signing of the MOU and other issues on the rights of Taiwanese businesspeople in China would be prioritized during the third round of cross-strait negotiations in China next year.
ARATS Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) voiced concerns about the effect of the global financial crisis on China and Taiwan, but said China would engage in more economic cooperation with Taiwan to manage the crisis.
Financial experts from Taipei and Beijing approached yesterday’s forum with high expectations on measures to tackle the global financial crisis, but ended up having to be content with an exchange of individual experiences.
Top financial officials and bank representatives from Taiwan, including Financial Supervisory Commission Vice Chairwoman Lee Jih-chu (李紀珠), state-run Bank of Taiwan’s (臺灣銀行) chairwoman Susan Chang (張秀蓮) and Director of the bank’s Foreign Exchange Bureau Duann Jin-sheng (段金生), attended along with officials from China’s Banking Regulatory Commission, Securities Regulatory Commission and Insurance Regulatory Commission. Top officers from China’s largest and third-largest banks, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (中國工商銀行) and the Bank of China (中國銀行), also attended.
Lee told the press conference after the forum that both sides agreed the financial “tsunami” was a “once-in-a-century” occurrence.
They also concurred that the fundamentals of both sides’ economies were sound and that their governments had so far coped well with the crisis.
“However, the crisis is far from over and both sides must work together,” she said.
Lee said the two sides agreed to establish a communication window between government agencies.
To combat the financial crisis, Chiang said it would be a good idea to make use of Taiwan’s US$200 billion in foreign reserves as well as those of Hong Kong and China to establish a suitable mechanism.
Lee said Taiwan’s central bank proposed during the meeting that regional economies with substantial foreign reserves, such as China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan, consider establishing a common fund to help weaker neighboring economies.
China, Japan and South Korea have been discussing the possibility of forming an US$80 billion fund.
China, however, did not offer any “concrete response,” Lee said.
The central bank also proposed including Taiwan in the ASEAN plus three and in the currency exchange mechanism to prevent the NT dollar from suffering from fluctuations in the global market.
China, again, did not offer any “concrete response” to the proposals, Lee said.
When asked whether such proposals were feasible, Lee said the media should ask the central bank for comment.
China’s Bank of China also encouraged the two sides to establish a system for direct settlement of dues and expressed an interest in conducting such business in China.
China did not respond to Taiwan’s request for further opening up of its market to Taiwanese 3C products — computing, communications and consumer electronics goods.
Transportation officials on both sides agreed to establish a negotiation mechanism and form an alliance to lower costs and “refrain from engaging in malicious competition.”
The two sides also reached a consensus on establishing joint inspection and standardization systems for high-tech products that other countries could follow.
SEF Secretary-General Kao Koong-lian (高孔廉) said both sides hoped to discuss the issue once or twice a year.
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