SEF chief says "no delay" in advancing cross-Strait co-op

TAICHUNG, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) -- The mainland and Taiwan have no time to delay in deepening and strengthening economic and trade cooperation, Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) chairman Chiang Pin-kung said here Monday.

"In the global financial crisis, cooperation is to bring benefits while rivalry is to cause losses for both. The sustainable development of both sides should be based on working together and complementing each other's advantages," Chiang said at a welcome banquet on Monday for a mainland delegation.

The delegation, led by Chen Yunlin, president of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS), arrived in Taiwan on Monday for a fresh round of cross-Strait talks to be kicked off on Tuesday.

The talks would be the fourth round since the ARATS and the SEF resumed negotiations in June last year after a 10-year suspension, with labor cooperation in the fishing industry, cooperation in inspection and quarantine of agricultural products, and taxation cooperation high on agenda.

"With joint efforts of both sides, the previous three rounds of talks have begun to show win-win results of mutual benefits," Chen said.