Trade negotiators postpone trip to Beijing

An anonymous economics official said on Sunday that the delegation, to be led by Huang Chih-peng, chief of the Bureau of Foreign Trade under the Ministry of Economic Affairs, has delayed the visit but refused to elaborate on the reasons for the postponement. The new date and venue of the negotiations will be decided by Beijing's Ministry of Commerce, the official said.

The fourth round of informal talks on the issue were expected to affirm the outcomes of the previous talks and discuss details of the proposed economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) in Taiwan.

Both sides will exchange for the first time the list of their early harvest items, which are supposed to enjoy tariff reductions before the conclusion of the pact.

Products in the petrochemical, textiles, machinery, auto parts, and flat panel sectors and financial and banking services are expected to be at the top of the list of Taiwan's requests.

The negotiations have drawn wide attention in Taiwan and put Huang and his delegates, consisting mainly of trade and industrial officials, under great pressure.

They are being conducted by Taiwan's Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research and the Association of Economy and Trade Across the Taiwan Straits under Beijing's Ministry of Commerce because of the absence of official ties between China and Taiwan.

Huang and other Taiwanese officials will take part in the negotiations as advisers to the Chung-Hua Institution. They will negotiate with Chinese trade officials headed by Tang Wei, director of the Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Department under China's Ministry of Commerce.

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