Economy

Need to sign economic pact quickly, says Taiwan

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-02-23 06:59

Island hopes to sign ECFA with mainland this year: Ma Ying-jeou

TAIPEI: Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou said Monday that negotiating and signing a wide-ranging economic pact with the Chinese mainland was "absolutely necessary" and "needs to be done quickly".

Ma made the remarks during a gathering for Taiwan business people with businesses on the mainland.

The gathering was organized by the island's Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), an organization authorized to handle cross-Straits issues, to mark the Spring Festival.

The principle idea of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) was to "help people do business and raise Taiwan's competitiveness", Ma said in his 35-minute speech.

ECFA is a wide-ranging economic pact to further normalize trade and investment ties across the Straits, which Ma hopes to sign with the mainland this year to help fuel Taiwan's economic revival.

The mainland is Taiwan's biggest trade partner and its largest export market. Taiwan business people have invested more than $70 billion in 70,000 projects on the mainland.

However, the Jan 1 formal inauguration of the "ASEAN plus the mainland" free trade area that allows zero tariffs on trade between the Chinese mainland and ASEAN countries has put Taiwanese exporters at a disadvantage.

Faced with the possible threat, Ma initiated the ECFA last February, covering tax reductions, market access, investment and trade.

However, Taiwan's opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has blamed the ruling Kuomintang for "selling out Taiwan", citing massive potential job losses that could be brought by ECFA.

But Ma yesterday said signing ECFA would help create 260,000 jobs in Taiwan, citing a local research institution.

He said given the huge amount of trade between the two sides, a systematic mechanism is needed to solve possible problems.

Ma also urged efforts to help the public know more about ECFA, especially low-income residents, people who work in small and medium-sized enterprises and those living in central and southern Taiwan.

ECFA negotiations have no fixed schedule. The only round of talks so far were held in Beijing on Jan 26. The proposed agreement mainly includes reducing tariffs, guaranteeing investment and protecting intellectual property.

Economic ties between the mainland and Taiwan have warmed in recent years, with direct air and sea transport links and postal services, as well as regular passenger charter flights connecting the island with the mainland.

Xinhua