The first round of talks on an Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement between Taiwan and the mainland will be held in Beijing this week, the South China Morning Post reported. According to the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), Kao Koong-lian, deputy chairman of the SEF, will head up the Taiwan delegation, while Zheng Lizhong, vice president of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait. The agreement is intended to boost cross-strait commercial ties by normalizing trade arrangements. Taiwan has said it would like any pact to include the removal of tariffs on petrochemicals, machinery and textile products. An agreement is seen as critical to lifting growth and easing unemployment in the island. Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou has pledged to create 100,000 new jobs this year.
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