Meetings seek deals on aviation, taxation

Updated: 2015-08-25 07:44

By He Na and Hu Meidong in Fuzhou(China Daily)

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Lin Join-sane, chairman of the Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation, arrived in Fuzhou, capital of Fujian province, on Monday to join the upcoming 11th round of talks between the negotiating bodies of the mainland and Taiwan.

Chen Deming, president of the mainland-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits, held a welcome ceremony for his counterpart.

During three days of talks, the two sides will discuss a wide range of topics, but the key issue is the negotiation of agreements on aviation safety and dual taxation.

To ensure the successful signing of the two agreements, delegations from both associations conducted detailed preparatory negotiations on Monday.

Chen will meet with Lin on Tuesday, and the two agreements are expected to be signed Tuesday afternoon.

"With increasing communication and exchanges between the mainland and Taiwan, cooperation in aviation and avoiding dual taxation become more important than ever," Chen said.

"The signing of the two agreements will not only improve aviation safety standards and better protect the safety and property of people on both sides of the Straits, but also relieve Taiwan businessmen's taxation burden and promote the economy of the two sides," Chen said.

The aviation safety agreement is important as cross-Straits personnel exchanges have become common, Lin said.

More than 9.4 million people made the trip between the mainland and Taiwan in 2014, according to the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office. Regular cross-Straits passenger flights increased by 12 to 840 weekly and the number was expected to rise to 890 after Oct 1.

Additionally, the number of Taiwan-based enterprises that invested in the mainland exceeded 93,000 in 2014, Lin said.

"The signing of the agreement to avoid dual taxation will reduce the economic burden on Taiwan business people and relieve the income tax of Taiwan residents that work in mainland," Lin said.

The Taiwan finance department estimated that the taxation agreement will help Taiwan enterprises reduce their tax burden by some NT$3.9 billion ($118 million).

Since the resumption of talks between the two groups in June 2008, more than 20 agreements have been signed.

Contact the writers through hena@chinadaily.com.cn

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