The Chinese mainland will conduct preliminary talks on an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) with Taiwan, if the island is willing to do so, a senior official said.
State Council Taiwan Affairs Office Director Wang Yi made the remarks Boao, Haina Province while meeting with Fredrick Chien, who led a Taiwanese delegation to the annual conference of the Boao Forum for Asia, founded in 2001 and billed as an Asian equivalent to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
(Xinhua News Agency April 17, 2009)