Negotiations for cross-strait talks to be held in Taipei

MAC Chairwoman Lai Shin-yuan said that Zheng Lizhong, vice president of Beijing's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS), will arrive in Taipei April 17 at the head of a Chinese delegation.

The preparatory meeting will work out details for the planned talks between Straits Exchange Foundation Chairman P.K. Chiang and his ARATS counterpart, Chen Yunlin.

The meeting will also put the final touches to three pacts and a joint statement slated to be inked by Chiang and Chen during their meeting.

The three pacts include one on financial cooperation, one on changing the existing direct cross-strait charter flights into regular flights, and another on joint efforts to combat crime, while the joint statement will relate to opening Taiwan to investment from China.

The preparatory meeting will also broach the possibility of discussing a trade pact in a future fourth round of Chen-Chiang talks, said Lai.

Since Chiang is slated to return to Beijing April 19, another round of preparatory talks can be held at a later date if necessary, he added.

The date of the third round of SEF-ARATS talks has not yet been decided, but is expected to be at some point in late May in the Chinese city of Nanjing.

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