Taipei and Beijing will hold the first round of official negotiations on an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) tomorrow in Beijing, the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) said yesterday.
President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration hopes to ink the proposed pact in May during the fifth round of talks between SEF Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤) and Chinese counterpart, Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) Chen Yunlin (陳雲林).
Chiang and Chen agreed last month during talks in Taichung to place the proposed pact and protection of intellectual property in the next round of meetings scheduled for the first half of this year, possibly in May.
The SEF said in a statement yesterday that tomorrow’s negotiations would be conducted by delegations headed by SEF Secretary-General Kao Koong-lian (高孔廉) and ARATS Executive Vice Minister Zheng Lizhong (鄭立中).
ARATS said in a statement published on the Xinhua news agency Web site yesterday that the “expert discussions were expected to focus on the evaluation of the results and proposals of joint research by academic institutions on both sides on this issue and discussing the official name and basic structure of the economic cooperation framework.”
Xinua said ARATS hoped both sides could “keep to the principle of equality and mutual benefit, seek common ground while reserving differences for the promotion of the economic cooperation in an active and steady manner.”
In an interview with the Taipei Times on Thursday, Ma said that signing the ECFA was “just the beginning” and that eventually the two sides would establish “something similar to a free-trade area.”
The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994 stipulates that the working party of any interim agreement must make appropriate recommendations on the proposed time frame and on measures required to complete the formation of a free-trade area or customs union.
Ma denied during the interview that the government would be coerced into fully opening markets in 10 years, saying any country facing such a situation could refer the problem to the WTO.
Article XXIV of the GATT 1994 states that the “reasonable length of time” for opening markets should exceed 10 years only in exceptional cases. The contracting party believing 10 years would be insufficient shall provide a full explanation to the Council for Trade in Goods of the need for a longer period.
A senior Mainland Affairs Council official who wished to remain anonymous told the Taipei Times yesterday that once an ECFA is signed, 90 percent of the local market would be opened within 10 years.
The Ma administration, however, does not want to provide a time frame for forming a free-trade area, the official said, taking into account that such a description would cause concern among those hit hard by the accords.
Nor did they want to do so in a comprehensive agreement on traded goods, a supplementary accord that would follow after the ECFA is signed, the official said.
At a separate setting yesterday, Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) reiterated the government’s promise that it would not open Taiwan’s market further to Chinese agricultural products, nor allow Chinese laborers to work in Taiwan.
Additional reporting by Flora Wang
EXPRESSING GRATITUDE: Without its Taiwanese partners which are ‘working around the clock,’ Nvidia could not meet AI demand, CEO Jensen Huang said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and US-based artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer Nvidia Corp have partnered with each other on silicon photonics development, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said. Speaking with reporters after he met with TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) in Taipei on Friday, Huang said his company was working with the world’s largest contract chipmaker on silicon photonics, but admitted it was unlikely for the cooperation to yield results any time soon, and both sides would need several years to achieve concrete outcomes. To have a stake in the silicon photonics supply chain, TSMC and
SILICON VALLEY HUB: The office would showcase Taiwan’s strengths in semiconductors and artificial intelligence, and help Taiwanese start-ups connect with global opportunities Taiwan has established an office in Palo Alto, one of the principal cities of Silicon Valley in California, aimed at helping Taiwanese technology start-ups gain global visibility, the National Development Council said yesterday. The “Startup Island Taiwan Silicon Valley hub” at No. 299 California Avenue is focused on “supporting start-ups and innovators by providing professional consulting, co-working spaces, and community platforms,” the council said in a post on its Web site. The office is the second overseas start-up hub established by the council, after a similar site was set up in Tokyo in September last year. Representatives from Taiwanese start-ups, local businesses and
‘DETERRENT’: US national security adviser-designate Mike Waltz said that he wants to speed up deliveries of weapons purchased by Taiwan to deter threats from China US president-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for US secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, affirmed his commitment to peace in the Taiwan Strait during his confirmation hearing in Washington on Tuesday. Hegseth called China “the most comprehensive and serious challenge to US national security” and said that he would aim to limit Beijing’s expansion in the Indo-Pacific region, Voice of America reported. He would also adhere to long-standing policies to prevent miscalculations, Hegseth added. The US Senate Armed Services Committee hearing was the first for a nominee of Trump’s incoming Cabinet, and questions mostly focused on whether he was fit for the
SHARED VALUES: The US, Taiwan and other allies hope to maintain the cross-strait ‘status quo’ to foster regional prosperity and growth, the former US vice president said Former US vice president Mike Pence yesterday vowed to continue to support US-Taiwan relations, and to defend the security and interests of both countries and the free world. At a meeting with President William Lai (賴清德) at the Presidential Office in Taipei, Pence said that the US and Taiwan enjoy strong and continued friendship based on the shared values of freedom, the rule of law and respect for human rights. Such foundations exceed limitations imposed by geography and culture, said Pence, who is visiting Taiwan for the first time. The US and Taiwan have shared interests, and Americans are increasingly concerned about China’s
RSS