ECC committee begins first trade meeting

The talks were led by Taiwan's Vice Economics Minister Francis Kuo-hsin Liang and China's Vice Minister of Commerce Jiang Zengwei.

In his opening address, Taipei-based Straits Exchange Foundation Vice Chairman Kao Koong-lian said the ECC was set up as a communication platform under the economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) signed last June and stressed that its function would not exceed the scope of the ECFA.

If any new agreements were signed through the ECC in the future, they would be forwarded to the Legislative Yuan for endorsement before they are implemented, Kao said, trying to ease concerns that the committee would not be subject to outside oversight.

The main purpose of the first ECC meeting will be to discuss the establishment of four working groups on trade in goods, trade in services, dispute settlement, and investment, according to Kao.

The ECC will also announce the start of negotiations on the further liberalization of trade in goods and services and on a cross-strait mechanism for settling disputes.

Another of its functions will be to examine the results of the early-harvest program under the ECFA and seek solutions for any problems that have arisen, Kao said.

Since the early-harvest program was launched Jan. 1, nearly 2,000 certificates of origin have been issued for Taiwanese products worth over US$400 million that are to receive preferential duties from China under the program, according to statistics from the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA).

Meanwhile, Zheng Lizhong, vice president of the Beijing-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait, said China's official statistics show that cross-strait trade totaled US$145.37 billion in 2010, up 36.9 percent from the previous year.

China's exports to Taiwan rose 44.8 percent to US$29.68 billion, and imports from Taiwan increased 35 percent to US$115.69 billion, giving Taiwan a US$86.01 billion trade surplus, Zheng said.

He said Beijing will actively enforce the ECFA while implementing its 12th five-year economic development plan between 2011 and 2015, further strengthening cross-strait economic cooperation.

For the first ECC meeting, Taiwan is fielding a delegation of more than 40 officials from the MOEA, the Mainland Affairs Council, the Financial Supervisory Commission and the Ministry of Finance.

The 36-member Chinese delegation is comprised of officials from the Ministry of Commerce, the Taiwan Affairs Office, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Finance, the General Administration of Customs, and the Central Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine.

Approximately 80 policemen have been dispatched to maintain order at the meeting venue in the county's Jhongli area. The situation was peaceful as of noon, without any protests from opposition parties.

Opposition politicians have been critical of the ECFA, contending that it compromises Taiwan's sovereignty and makes the country more dependent on China economically.

They believe the committee lacks adequate checks and balances and only makes it easier for China to undermine Taiwan's sovereignty and extend its influence into the country.

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