A cross-strait committee has been set up to oversee implementation of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement and handle follow-up negotiations, Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs said Jan.6.
“The Cross-Strait Economic Cooperation Committee is similar in nature to the Trade and Investment Committee stipulated under the Taiwan-U.S. Trade and Investment Framework Agreement,” MOEA Deputy Minister Liang Kuo-hsin said.
Liang’s remarks came during a joint news conference with Liu Te-shun, deputy minister of the Mainland Affairs Council, in Taipei City. Their mainland Chinese counterparts released a statement on the matter the same day in Beijing.
According to Liang, the organization consists of 13 official representatives from each side and is established in accordance with Article 11 of the ECFA.
“The organization is convened jointly by Kao Koong-lian, vice chairman of the Taipei-based Straits Exchange Foundation, and Zheng Lizhong, vice chairman of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait in Beijing,” he said.
Taiwan’s committee delegation, which is headed by Liang, includes senior officials from the Council for Economic Planning and Development, Financial Supervisory Commission, MAC, MOEA and Ministry of Finance. The mainland Chinese representation is led by Vice Minister of Commerce Jiang Zenwei.
MAC officials said the organization will be divided into six working groups covering issues such as intellectual property rights protection, trade and investment, rules of origin and dispute settlement.
Liang said the committee functions as a task-specific negotiation platform and all outcomes must be forwarded to the SEF and ARATS for review and confirmation. “Any resultant agreements are also subject to legislative approval,” he added.
Sources familiar with the matter said one of the organization’s first tasks is to ensure the proposed cross-strait investment protection agreement is concluded during the upcoming round of SEF-ARATS talks. Fast-tracking negotiations on dispute settlement as well as trade in goods and services have been given equal priority, they added. (JSM)
Write to Meg Chang at meg.chang@mail.gio.gov.tw