Taiwan right to sign trade pact with China: Singapore PM

In an interview with a Taiwanese newspaper, Lee also said that China was not taking a leading role in the world because it was not yet in a position to do so.

“If Taiwan did not sign the pact with China and went its own way, it would only be hurting itself,” Mr Lee told the mass-circulation China Times.

Taiwan signed the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) with China, its top trading partner, on June 29, after six months of negotiations.

By the end of 2012, 539 Taiwanese products — which made up 16.1 percent of the island's total exports to China last year — will enjoy tariff-free entry to the mainland market. At the same time, 267 mainland products exported to Taiwan will be given the same treatment.

China will open 11 service sectors such as banking and insurance to Taiwan, and gain wider access to seven sectors like banking on the island.

On Aug. 5, Taiwan and Singapore announced that their officials would meet later this year to explore the feasibility of a similar pact.

Asked whether a deal could be done by the end of the year, Lee replied: “We are still studying the feasibility of such an agreement ... in the next few months we will have a clearer idea of what the issues involved are.”

Taiwan was Singapore's eighth-largest trading partner last year, with total trade amounting to US$23 billion. Lee said that once the Singapore-Taiwan deal goes through, other countries in the region would likely want to also open their trading doors to Taiwan.

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