On June 29, 2010, ARATS President Chen Yunlin and SEF Chairman Chiang Pin-kung signed the ECFA in Chongqing during their fifth talks.

Recalling the negotiation process of the ECFA, Zheng Lizhong, ARATS' Executive Vice President, said in addition to the three rounds of expert-level talks, the ARATS and the SEF also held 10 consultations. "These consultations created records in terms of the number of departments involved, the wide range of topics covered, the complexity of the issues discussed, and the difficulty in coordinating the consultations," Zheng said.

ARATS and SEF Key Talks

Founded in 1991 and 1990, the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) and the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) are authorized to handle cross-Straits affairs.

The main talks between the two organizations in the past were:

In November 1992, the ARATS and the SEF held talks in Hong Kong. The organizations reached what's called the "1992 Consensus." It states that both sides adhere to the one-China policy.

In April 1993, ARATS President Wang Daohan and SEF Chairman Koo Chen-fu held a historic "Wang-Koo meeting" in Singapore. It was the first public meeting between leaders of the two organizations. They signed four agreements on economic and trade cooperation.

From 1993 to 1998, the two organizations held more than 20 rounds of talks including one between Wang and Koo in Shanghai in 1998.

In 1999, negotiations between the two organizations were suspended because former Taiwan leader Lee Teng-hui began to pursue "Taiwan independence."

As of March 2008, cross-Straits relations began to improve. The ARATS and the SEF agreed to resume talks based on the "1992 Consensus."

From June 12-14, 2008, top leaders of the ARATS and the SEF held their first talks since 1999 in Beijing. ARATS President Chen Yunlin and SEF Chairman Chiang Pin-kung signed agreements on cross-Straits weekend charter flights and tourism.

On November 3, 2008, President Chen led an ARATS delegation to Taiwan for a five-day visit. In Taipei, Chen and Chiang signed four agreements on direct shipping, air transport, postal services and food safety.

On April 26, 2009, Chen and Chiang signed three agreements on opening regular flights, boosting cooperation in finance and cracking down on crime during their third talks in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province. The two sides also reached a consensus to boost investment by mainland companies on the island.

On December 22, 2009, Chen and Chiang held their fourth talks in Taichung, Taiwan. They signed agreements on cooperation in farm produce quarantine and cross-Straits employment of fishermen, as well as to deal with different product quality standards.

On June 24, 2010, the two organizations held a preliminary consultation in Taipei. They agreed that the fifth talks between ARATS and SEF top leaders since the two organizations resumed talks in June 2008 would be held in Chongqing on June 29, during which the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) and an agreement on intellectual property rights protection would be signed.

On June 29, 2010, Chen and Chiang signed the ECFA.

Source: Xinhua News Agency