Taiwan, China to hold informal trade talks

TAIWAN: Taiwan and China will hold informal talks next week in preparation of a much-anticipated trade pact, local media reported Monday.

Huang Chih-peng, director of Taiwan’s Bureau of Foreign Trade, will lead a delegation to the mainland for the discussions, the Commercial Times said, citing unnamed sources.

The upcoming meeting, the fourth of its kind, is expected to set a timetable for formal negotiations and decide who will represent the two sides in the talks, according to the report. It added the informal discussions also aim to determine which industries will be the first to enjoy preferential tariffs when the “Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement” is concluded.

Taipei, Monday, AFP