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Updated Friday, March 26, 2010 12:08 am TWN, CNA

China's vice minister of commerce arrives

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- China's Vice Minister of Commerce Jiang Zengwei, traveling as the head of a 50 member Chinese business delegation, arrived in Taipei Thursday for a five-day visit.

Jiang is visiting in his capacity as an honorary president of Beijing's non-profit Association of Economy and Trade Across the Taiwan Straits (AETATS) at the invitation of the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), a quasi-official trade promotion body.

AETATS is an intermediary body set up by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce in 2005 to handle unofficial exchanges.

As Jiang is accompanied by Tang Wei, head of the Department of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau under the Ministry of Commerce, who is in charge of China's talks with Taiwan over a proposed cross strait economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA), local media speculated that Jiang's visit is related to the second round of ECFA talks slated to open in Taipei next week.

However, Minister of Economic Affairs Shih Yen-shiang said that day that Jiang is a guest of TAITRA and that his visit has nothing to do with the ECFA.

“We have no plans to discuss ECFA-related matters with Jiang,” he said.

The top priority of the second round of ECFA talks will be discussing the list of industries to be included in the “early harvest” program for tariff concessions. Taiwan's early harvest list includes the petrochemical, machinery, textile and display panel industries, according to Ministry of Economic Affairs officials.

Shih said that the two sides will formally exchange written “early harvest” lists after one or two rounds of talks, a move that will herald the signing of the trade pact.

Also on Jiang's entourage are the owners and executives of 17 leading department stores around China.

During his visit, Jiang is also expected to visit several leading enterprises that have invested heavily in China, including the Formosa Plastics Group, the Uni-President Group and the Ting Hsin International Group.

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	China's Vice Minister of Commerce Jiang Zengwei, left, leading a 50 member Chinese business delegation, receives body temperature test when arriving at the airport in Taiwan yesterday evening for a five-day visit. After the mercury showed he had a high temperature, his companions said jokingly that it was due to the flashes from the reporters' cameras. (CNA) Enlarge Photo


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