The Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) and the Strait Exchange Foundation (SEF) held the fifth regular meeting of the Cross-Straits Economic Cooperation Committee (ECC) on December 10. The meeting was convened by Zheng Lizhong, executive vice chairman of ARATS and Gao Konglian, vice chairman of SEF. Gao Yan, chief representative of the Mainland side of ECC Mainland and Zhuo Shizhao, chief representative of Taiwan side reviewed the work of all groups since the fourth regular meeting, summarized the progress of cross-strait economic cooperation, evaluated the implementation of ECFA Early Harvest Programme, planed future work and exchanged ideas on issues of common concern.

I. Early Harvest of ECFA Harvesting Fruits

Since January 1, 2013 when tariffs on ECFA Early Harvest products were reduced to zero, the trade volume, customs duties reduced and certificates of origin approved and issued have all increased. According to the Customs statistics of Mainland, in January-October this year customs tariffs cut on early harvest products from Taiwan totaled USD 550 million. By the end of October 2013, customs tariffs reduced of early harvest products from Taiwan amounted to USD 1.2 billion. According to the statistics of Taiwan Customs, during the same period of time customs tariffs reduced of early harvest products from Mainland were over USD 50 million. By the end of October 2013 customs tariffs reduced of early harvest products from the Mainland amounted to USD 120 million.

By the end of October 2013, according to the statistics by Mainland, 216 Taiwan enterprises in non-finance field have benefited from the ECFA Early Harvest Programme, with contractual investment aggregated reaching USD 953 million; Taiwan-funded financing institutions were benefited for 40 times; 9 CPAs Taiwan have obtained the one-year temporary audit practice certificates; and 14 Taiwan films have been screened in Mainland. According to the statistics by Taiwan, 95 non-financial Mainland enterprises have been approved to invest in Taiwan, with capital invested and added totaling USD 140 million; 3 financing institutions are allowed to invest in Taiwan, with investment capital of USD 140 million.

II. Work of Various Subordinate Groups Well Underway

The Group of Trade in Services has completed the negotiation under the principle of mutual understanding, and signed the Cross-Straits Agreement on Service Trade in June this year, which is beneficial to the service trade in breadth and depth and strengthens the cooperation between the two sides. In the future, we will promote the Agreement to come into force as soon as possible.

The Group of Trade in Goods has been advancing the negotiation and gradually narrowing down the divergence between the two sides. In terms of the contents of the Agreement, both sides have agreed to cover rules of origin, customs procedures, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technological barriers to trade, and trade remedies. Among them, the rules of origin and customs procedures have been completed, and the rest have made great progress. In terms of market opening, the two sides exchanged views on issues of tariff reduction, opening proportion of market and specific rules of origin. The two sides communicated with each other on products they focus on and arranged industrial match-up negotiations. Given the industrial interests involved of various parties, more time is needed to negotiate and communicate and more efforts are needed advance the negotiation process.

The investment panel specified and implemented the insurance agreement, set up investment dispute settlement mechanism and investment consultation mechanism, and positively dealt with the appeal case by investors and followed up the progress closely. Until now, we have held two working conferences to review the progress of the agreement and help to improve the efficiency of case coordination and settlement. Both sides exchanged the lists of cross-straits investment dispute settlement institutions” and “subrogation institutions”. The Mainland China has released and carried out the Interim Measures for Determination of Reinvestment by Taiwan Investors through a Third Place; In terms of the P-G investment dispute settlement mechanism, investment dispute settlement institutions of both parties have worked out the mediation rules draft and the Mainland China will positively push to release the judicial interpretation of relevant investment dispute mediation agreement. Both sides will adhere to improve the working mechanism, boost investment facilitation and promote two-way investments.

Dispute settlement panel has worked together to reach consensus in preface, scope of application, time limit, functions of expert review group and reporting of expert review group. Both sides will make concerted efforts, in principles of “similarities seeking and differences reduction” and active and steady development” to push negotiations and reach agreement in due time.

Customs cooperation panel has set up five expert groups as scheduled and a contact window to communicate and keep informed of the problems regarding customs clearance in time. Next year, both sides will set up and launch cross-straits customs electronic information exchange system relating to ECFA trade in goods and make arrangements for AEO mutual recognition so as to create more convenient and safer environment for ECFA trade in goods.

Industry cooperation panel positively advanced industry cooperation in relevant areas, thus it has made favorable achievements in LED lighting, wireless city, cold chain logistics, display industry and automobile, and set up a textile group. The LED lighting group will constantly enhance the cross-straits LED lighting mutual technical specification and interface standard cooperation, speed up the comparison of cross-straits laboratories, promote mutual recognition of LED lighting products testing certification and thoroughly seek to work out MOCVD, phosphor cooperation mode and implementation scheme; wireless city group will continue to advance Chengdu, Ningbo and Fuzhou (including Pingtan) pilots to cooperate with TD-LTE industry, push on to strengthen 4G/TD-LTE technology, standard and industry cooperation, assist Taiwan region in improving the existing 4G/TD-LTE trial network and establish a long-time cooperation mechanism; cold chain logistics group, as a demonstration case, designs repeatable industry chain integration mode, expand the scope of pilot, continue to build energy efficient cold storage, introduce food processing innovative technology, strengthen logistics distribution function and make use of cross-straits association advantages to quicken the establishment of a cooperation platform. The two parties in the Working Group of Display Industry will continue to strengthen cooperation in investment and industrial chain, so as to push the common development of cross-strait industries, and the group will continue to strengthen cooperation in standards of smart TVs, panels and components, and will promote joint research on the standardization; the Working Group of Vehicles (including electric vehicles) will constantly expand cooperation in technology, products and markets of motor bus, and make Hangzhou as the pilot city for cooperation in design and manufacture following the industrial demands in Taiwan in order to jointly explore Taiwan and international markets; the group will also seek to simplify the verification procedures on vehicles; in terms of park cooperation, the two parties will, by making use of the parks of Mainland and Taiwan, promote industrial exchanges as well as extension and supportive measures of industrial chains, and will also push forward matchmaking and cooperation in the particular region that the two parties planned to develop.

With regard to institutions subject to mutual setup of offices, according to the consensus reached by both parties, China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products (CCCME) has set up an office in Taipei, and Taiwan Trade Center has set up four offices in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Qingdao, which have played a positive role in promoting cross-strait exchanges and cooperation. The second representative office of trade institutions of the two parties, the Straits Economic and Trade Exchanges Association (AETATS) on the part of Mainland China and Taiwan Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers' Association (TEEMA) on the part of Taiwan Region, will be set up respectively as soon as possible, and the offices are expected to be opened in the first half of 2014.

III. An in-depth exchange of views on issues of common concern

The two parties discussed e-commerce development, and exchanged views on such issues as commodity inspection, customs clearance and the procedure of establishing enterprises in e-commerce; both parties agreed to make efforts to push forward cross-strait cooperation in e-commerce. Mainland China briefed on Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Area and other Mainland-Taiwan economic and trade cooperation areas, and Taiwan side made introduction to free economic pilot zones; both parties hoped to strengthen exchanges and expand cooperation in the said areas so as to facilitate mutual benefits and win-win of cross-strait economic function areas.

Gao Yan, Mainland’s Chief Representative to the Cross-Straits Economic Cooperation Committee (ECC) of Mainland China, put forward proposals from six aspects including continuation to consolidate the achievement on the Early Harvest, continuation to implement the signed agreements, continuation to push forward follow-up negotiations of ECFA, continuation to explore industrial cooperation, continuation to promote mutual setup of offices by economic and trade institutions and continuation to build platform for cooperation.

Zhuo Shizhao, Taiwan’s Chief Representative to the ECC, said that the two parties affirmed the achievements made in each topic, especially on reaching service trade agreement and promoting follow-up negotiations of other ECPAs. The two parties also enhanced mutual understanding on trade and economic policies of each other through the platform of ECC. He hoped teams of the two parties to continue to make efforts to complete the negotiations on trade in goods and dispute resolution protocol, and implement and promote economic cooperation, so as to enhance further exchanges and cooperation between the two parties, and promote interaction and development for cross-strait trade and economy.

Both parties agreed that in face of the profound and complex changes of world economy and regional economic integration, it is necessary for ECC to strengthen communication and coordination in response to demands of enterprises, make unremitting efforts, and carry out sincere cooperation focusing on the goal of perfection of cooperation mechanism, expansion of cooperation field, implementation cooperative measures and reflection of cooperation benefits so as to deepen cross-strait economic cooperation and unceasingly enhance cross-strait economic competitiveness for the purpose of creation of more benefits for people across the Straits.

(All information published on this website is authentic in Chinese. English is provided for reference only.)