Taiwan, China set for historic trade meeting

February 21, 2011 | 08:00

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Deputy trade ministers from Taiwan and China will meet on the island this week in what is being hailed as a significant step forward in the normalisation of ties between the former rivals.

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"It is the first time in more than 60 years that representatives from the two sides will meet on a platform jointly endorsed by their governments," said Timothy Huang, a spokesman for the Straits Exchange Foundation.

The foundation is a quasi-official body authorised by the Taiwanese government to handle civil contacts with the mainland.

"The meeting is of special significance," Huang told AFP.

Taipei and Beijing launched a new body, the Economic Cooperation Committee, last month to deal with economic issues arising from a sweeping trade pact forged last year.

China's deputy commerce minister Jiang Zengwei and his Taiwanese counterpart Liang Kuo-hsin will hold the committee's first meeting in the northern Taoyuan city on Tuesday. The committee will meet every six months.

The delegates will discuss proposals for exchanging liaison offices for various civil, economic and trade groups.

"Such representative offices will be helpful in the further strengthening of economic and trade ties between the two sides," Huang said.

Although Taiwan and China have been governed separately for more than six decades, Beijing considers the island part of its territory to be reunified by force if necessary.

AFP

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