Economy

Mainland, Taiwan to hold 3rd talks on economic pact

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-06-10 16:04
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BEIJING: The Chinese mainland and Taiwan have decided to hold their third round of expert-level talks on Sunday, to pave the way for a long-awaited economic and trade pact that is expected to boost cross-Strait trade.

Experts from both sides will discuss the framework and the clauses of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), said a statement from the mainland's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) Thursday.

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The ECFA is intended to normalize mainland-Taiwan economic ties and bring the two economies closer.

Goods and service trade in the "early harvest program" as well as follow-up arrangements will also be discussed at the meeting, the statement said.

The first round of talks took place in January in Beijing and the second round was held two months later in Taipei.

A statement released after the second round of talks said the two sides had reached "a series of agreements," including pledges to consider each other's most urgent and necessary issues in deciding the list of products and services in the early harvest program.

On March 17, Yang Yi, the spokesman of the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, told a press conference that the two sides should work together to complete the pact in June.

On April 2, Chiang Pin-kung, chairman of Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), said the SEF hoped to see the signing of the ECFA by the end of June.