Kina och Taiwan i nya samtal

Kina och Taiwan i nya samtal

Den fjärde samtalsrundan mellan Kina och Taiwan kommer att hållas i slutet av december i Taichung i centrala Taiwan. Fyra nya avtal förväntas att undertecknas rörande produktcertifiering, dubbelbeskattning, jordbruksprodukter samt arbetskraft inom fiskeindustrin.

Enligt Taiwans Ministry of Economic Affairs uppgick handeln över Taiwansundet till 130 miljoner dollar (930 miljoner kronor) 2008.

PRESS RELEASE

Government Information Office
December 9, 2009

Fourth round of Cross-Strait Talks in late December

The fourth round of talks between Chiang Pin-kung, chairman of Taiwan’s Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), and Chen Yunlin, chairman of mainland China’s Association for Relations across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS), are scheduled to start in late December in the central Taiwan city of Taichung. The two sides expect to sign four agreements on standards, inspection, measurement and certification; quarantine and inspections of agricultural products; double taxation avoidance; and fishery labor cooperation. During the talks, the SEF and ARATS will also jointly hold a forum on mainland investment in Taiwan during which pertinent agencies and ministries of the Republic of China (Taiwan) are to explain policies and regulations, and domestic industrial and commercial associations are to offer briefings on Taiwan’s investment environment.

As for cross-strait cooperation on standards, inspection, measurement and certification, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said that, as of 2008, cross-strait trade totaled US$130 billion. However, at the current stage of the cross-strait relationship, there is still a considerable gap between the two sides regarding standardization and compatibility of assessment systems as well as market oversight and management mechanisms.

Taiwan’s business sector is also looking to the government to assist in resolving technical trade barriers encountered by goods exported to the Chinese mainland, and cooperation on standards, inspection, measurement and certification can help ensure the safety of consumer goods. Thus, the initiative to achieve cross-strait cooperation in this area is a response to domestic industry demand.

Standards and procedures to ensure the safety of consumer goods will be formulated with reference to EU and U.S. methods. Once the competent authorities on both sides of the Strait have established liaison channels, information regarding the safety of consumer goods is to be exchanged along with information bulletins on unsafe consumer goods.

The Ministry of Financial Affairs stated that the objective of the agreement on cross-strait taxation would be to avoid double taxation between the two sides of the Strait so as to facilitate fair competition on the Chinese mainland between Taiwan businesses and those from other countries or regions, and to boost Taiwan’s competitiveness in attracting investment. The agreement will set up a cross-strait taxation cooperation mechanism to resolve taxation disputes and safeguard taxation fairness. This will also reduce taxation costs and uncertainties and cut investment risk to enhance the attractiveness of investing in Taiwan.

Concerning the agreement on quarantine and inspections of agricultural goods, the Council of Agriculture noted that, with no means at present for effective bilateral communication or verification between pertinent authorities on each side of the Strait, no effective procedures for the quarantine and inspection of agricultural goods are in place, nor is any quarantine and inspection certificate of acceptance recognized by both sides. This round of cross-strait talks intends to work out an agricultural product quarantine and inspection notification system, codify joint quarantine and inspection techniques, standardize documentation, and definitively establish pertinent verification channels and procedures.

Regarding the agreement between the two sides to cooperate on fishing labor matters, under the premise of not opening Taiwan’s labor market to mainland Chinese workers, the agreement will maintain the fundamental policy of “over-the-border hiring, over-the-border operation and temporary transit stay.” It is to require that the mainland Chinese authorities bear responsibility for screening and certifying fishing crewmembers from the mainland. This will resolve current problems, set up a sound administrative system and effectively safeguard the rights of fishing boat owners and crewmembers, thereby creating a new mutually beneficial “win-win” situation.