Economics Minister John Deng says that negotiations on the Cross-Strait Goods Trade Agreement have not concluded and that Taiwan is still seeking more beneficial conditions.
The Cross-Strait Goods Trade Agreement is one of the two follow-up agreements to the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (EFCA) between Taiwan and Mainland China. On Sunday, Mainland China’s top negotiator with Taiwan, Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits President Chen Deming, said the negotiation on the trade in goods agreement had concluded. But Deng responded on Monday during a briefing at the Legislature, saying that the talks are ongoing.
“I don’t think there is any misunderstanding in this situation," said Deng. "We are still seeking more beneficial conditions [for Taiwan]. The negotiations will conclude when those conditions are met. So for now, the talks are still ongoing.”
Deng also said that the negotiations have not seen any concrete progress since the two sides exchanged ideas on the technicalities of the agreement.
When asked why Chen said the talks had concluded, Deng said he guessed that the Chinese delegation believes that they have already proposed their best offer to Taiwan.