Cross-Strait economic talks scheduled for Jan. 29

The first twice-yearly meeting of 2015 of the Cross-Strait Economic Cooperation Committee (ECC) will be held on Jan. 29 in Taipei, the Chinese mainland's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) announced Monday.

The ECC meetings were initiated following the 11th provision of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), a cross-Strait economic pact signed in 2010.

Zheng Lizhong, ECC mainland head and executive vice president of ARATS; and Gao Yan, ECC chief representative and vice commerce minister, will both head the mainland's delegation.

The meeting will review the ECFA and hear reports from working groups on goods and service trade; investment; dispute settlement; industry; and customs cooperation.

Other key issues on the agenda include the exchange of views on the establishment of economic and trade associations; cross-Strait cooperation; the economy; and future plans.

The last meeting was held in August 2014 in Beijing.

Meanwhile, ARATS and Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation arranged a meeting in Beijing last Friday between experts from both sides to discuss food safety.

They agreed to further research and negotiate information-sharing mechanisms to deal with major food safety incidents, and concurred that an office of the mainland's food and drug regulator should be set up to deal with cross-Strait food safety matters.