Cross-strait negotiators to meet on Thursday

Chief negotiators from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan will hold a new round of talks on Aug. 9 in Taipei, where two agreements on investment protection and customs cooperation are expected to be signed, according to a schedule released by the chief negotiator from Taiwan.

Chiang Pin-kung, chairman of the Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), said his upcoming talk with Chen Yunlin, president of the mainland-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS), their eighth talk since 2008, will fall on Thursday morning, adding that the two agreements are scheduled to be signed later in the day.

An ARATS delegation headed by Chen will arrive in Taipei Wednesday morning and his deputy will conduct preparatory negotiations with the SEF's deputy chief that afternoon, according to Chiang.

Chiang said his talk with Chen will cover the prospective benefits of the two agreements, a review of the implementation of past agreements and a discussion of future topics for their talks.

Chiang's announcement echoed a statement issued last week by the Taiwan Work Office of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee.

The statement said the investment protection agreement will promote and protect two-way investment, while the customs agreement will facilitate customs clearance and the effective supervision of cargo.

The agreements came out of discussions following the signing of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement by the ARATS and the SEF in 2010.