Chinese mainland's delegation leave for Taiwan for talks

BEIJING, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) -- BEIJING, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) -- A delegation of the Chinese mainland's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) left Beijing Monday morning for Taiwan for a new round of talks.

ARATS President Chen Yunlin, who leads the delegation, will meet Chiang Pin-kung, chairman of Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), Tuesday in Taichung.

The ARATS and the SEF are authorized by authorities in the mainland and Taiwan to handle cross-Strait issues.

Seeing the delegation off at airport, mainland Taiwan affairs chief Wang Yi expressed his wish for "smooth" talks, the fourth round since the ARATS and the SEF resumed negotiations in June last year after a 10-year suspension.

Wang, director of the Taiwan Work Office of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, said he expected the talks would play a "positive" role in furthering the mainland-Taiwan relations to benefit people on both sides of the Strait.

The agenda includes labor cooperation in the fishing industry, cooperation in inspection and quarantine of agricultural products, and taxation cooperation.

Wang said the leaders of the ARATS and the SEF would also exchange opinions on future negotiations on the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA).

Although the negotiations on the agreement were not on the agenda of the meeting this week, Wang stressed that the ECFA would be based on the principle of equality and mutual benefit.

"The negotiations would take full consideration of the Taiwan economy and market conditions while reasonably addressing the concerns of the Taiwan people," Wang, also head of the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, told the media at the airport.

Mentioning some Taiwan people's opposition to the talks, Wang said he believed that the majority on the island supported the improvement of the cross-Strait relationship and wanted solutions to actual issues through negotiations.

"I hope the Taiwan people can gain an accurate understanding of the talks and maintain a friendly and relaxed atmosphere for the talks," he said. 

Editor: Liu Anqi | Source: Xinhua