Fjärde samtalsrundan mellan Kina och Taiwan i december

PRESS RELEASE

Government Information Office

October 21, 2009

Fourth round of cross-strait talks set for mid- to late-December

The fourth round of talks between Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) and mainland China's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) is scheduled to take place in Taichung City in mid- to late-December this year.

According to the SEF on October 14, SEF Vice Chairman and Secretary-General Kao Koong-lian and ARATS Vice Chairman Zheng Lizhong met in Hangzhou on October 13 to discuss procedural matters and officially kicked off preparation work for the fourth consultations between the semi-official organizations.

Aside from setting the timing and location for the talks, the two parties also agreed to make immediate arrangements for authorities on both sides to begin communications on four major issues slated for upcoming meetings, so that they can form preliminary consensuses and draft agreements at the earliest possible date. The four issues to be discussed are: cooperation on fishery labor; quarantine and inspection of agricultural products; cooperation on standards, inspection and certification; and agreements to avoid double taxation.

Liu Te-hsun, Deputy Minister of the Mainland Affairs Council, indicated that the authorities are expected to begin communications on these issues by mid-October. Although the proposed economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) will not appear on the agenda for the upcoming SEF-ARATS talks, the two sides still hope to make preparations and include dialogue on this topic at the meetings.