Cross-strait trade office talks under way: official

“The two sides have been in talks on the issue and are expected to come to terms soon,” said Huang who is co-chairing a cross-strait industrial cooperation forum that opened in Kunshan earlier in the day.

Asked whether the issue is on the agenda of the upcoming second meeting of the Cross-Strait Economic Cooperation Committee, Huang said the meeting may not necessarily touch on this topic.

“However, the two sides will reach a conclusion on the exchange of trade representative offices in the near term,” Huang said.

But only trade promotion or economics-related agencies will be allowed to set up representative offices on either side, he said.

Both Taiwan and mainland China are keen to conclude the relevant talks as soon as possible, he said, adding that setting up formal offices will facilitate bilateral trade promotion and economic cooperation.

At present, the quasi-official Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) maintains an office in Beijing. But Huang said the TAITRA office is not a formal one.

“The office will become operational officially only after the agreement is sealed,” he said.

The Taipei-based Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) announced Thursday that the Cross-Strait Economic Cooperation Committee, which was created under the bilateral economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA), will hold its second regular meeting in Hangzhou, China on Nov. 1.

The agenda will include a progress review of the ECFA, including further tariff concessions and market opening measures, and industry and customs cooperation, said the SEF, a quasi-official organization authorized to handle cross-strait exchanges in the absence of official ties.

The committee's first meeting took place in Taoyuan in northern Taiwan in late February.

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