Mainland, Taiwan ready to sign ECFA
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Negotiators from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan conducted preparatory consultations Monday afternoon to make last-minute preparations for their fifth round of talks scheduled for Tuesday.
The mainland's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) and Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) are expected to sign the much-anticipated Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) and an agreement on intellectual property rights protection at the talks, said ARATS Executive Vice President Zheng Lizhong.
The ECFA will "benefit people across the Taiwan Strait, deepen economic cooperation, draw on each other's advantages, and realize mutual benefit," he said at the meeting on Monday.
"The agreement will also enhance the economic competitiveness and vitality of economies on both sides of the Strait," he said.
Founded in 1991 and 1990, respectively, the ARATS and the SEF are authorized to handle cross-Strait affairs on behalf of their respective authorities.
At a welcoming ceremony in honor of the Taiwan negotiators headed by the SEF chairman Chiang Pin-kung on Monday, ARATS president Chen Yunlin said the inking of the two agreements will "open a new page" for cross-Strait ties.
"The ECFA is a strategic move by both sides across the Taiwan Strait to improve the competitiveness of the Chinese in the face of new problems arising from the globalization of the world economy and regional integration," he said.
The ARATS and the SEF resumed negotiations in June 2008 after a 11-year suspension.
In the past two years the talks between the ARATS and SEF have brought 12 agreements including tourism; cross-Strait shipping and air transportation; cooperation in the fight against crime; mutual legal assistance; labor cooperation in the fishing industry; and cooperation in inspection and quarantine of agricultural products.
"We have achieved so much in such a short time. The agreements signed represent the common interests of the people on both sides of the Strait, and they show the people's common aspirations for peace, development and mutual benefit," Chen said.
"Facts prove that compatriots across the Strait have the capability and wisdom to solve their own problems through negotiations," he said.
Chiang Pin-kung said at the welcoming ceremony the ECFA will further remove cross-Strait trade and investment barriers and benefit people on both sides.
The intellectual property rights protection agreement is an inevitable move that will help the development of high-tech products on both sides of the Strait, Chiang said.
During Monday's vice-chairman level consultation, SEF Vice Chairman Kao Koong-lian said the two sides have set up a mechanism for conducting routine negotiations.
In the past two years, the two sides had conducted negotiations on an equal footing and with mutual respect, Kao said.
"We agreed to tackle the easy things first and difficult later and to deal with economic issues first and political later," he said. The two sides "accumulated trust during the process, which laid a foundation for future negotiations," he said.
The ECFA would enable Taiwan companies to compete fairly on the mainland and help Taiwan attract investment, boost employment and revitalize its economy, he said.
The agreement on intellectual property rights protection could help establish a mechanism for protecting cultural and innovation industries across the Strait by utilizing laws and regulations on the two sides, Kao said.
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