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Mainland, Taiwan experts reach consensus in 1st round talks

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-01-27 11:19

Experts from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan reached "broad consensus" on a long-awaited cross-Straits economic pact during their first round of talks on Tuesday.

According to a statement released after the meeting, experts from both sides agreed that the basic content of the pact would include market access for commodity trade and service trade, Rules of Origin, early harvest program, trade remedy, dispute settlement, investment and economic cooperation.

The two sides also exchanged tax regulations and economic and trade regulations and statistics.

The experts' meeting would prepare for formal discussions on the proposed Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) at the next round of talks between the mainland's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) and Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) in the first half of this year.

The experts agreed to push forward the negotiation process in accordance with the principles of "tackling easy things first, difficult things later; seeking consensus and shelving differences; progressing in proper sequence and step by step; and holding a positive and prudent attitude."

According to the statement, both sides agreed that the pact would play an important role in helping mainland and Taiwan jointly cope with the financial crisis and fierce competitions in international trade.

The framework would help mainland and Taiwan build a cross-Straits economic cooperation mechanism and benefit people of the two sides, the statement said.

The mainland delegation was led by ARATS executive vice president Zheng Lizhong. SEF vice chairman and secretary general Kao Kung-lian headed the Taiwan delegation.