Taiwan and China are expected to sign a major trade pact when their top envoys meet on the mainland next week, a report said Wednesday.
Taiwan's top negotiator Chiang Pin-kung will seal the deal with his Chinese counterpart Chen Yunlin in the city of Chongqing in southwest China from June 28-30, said the Taipei-based China Times, citing unnamed sources.
The two sides have been struggling to meet a June deadline for signing the pact, the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, which will mainly cover a list of industries that will benefit from preferential tariffs.
Senior officials from both sides are expected to finalise the list when they meet on Thursday in Taipei for preparatory talks to ready the agreement for signing, the report said.
A spokesman for Taiwan's semi-official Straits Exchange Foundation was not immediately available to comment when contacted by AFP.
Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government has been pushing for the pact saying it will boost growth and employment.
But opponents argue that stronger competition from China will cost jobs and the accord will make the island more dependent on the mainland.
Taiwan's main opposition party is planning to stage a mass rally on Saturday to protest against the pact.
Taiwan and China have been governed separately since a civil war ended in 1949, but Beijing considers the island part of its territory and has vowed to get it back, by force if necessary.
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