Taiwan, China Plan Further Talks in Sign of Improving Relations

Taiwan said on Friday its top official in charge of relations with China will meet his Chinese counterpart this month on an outlying island, the fourth such meeting since the start of last year in a sign of warming relations. Trade ties between the two sides have improved to their best level in six decades since Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou took office in 2008. In the meeting set for May 23-24, Andrew Hsia, head of Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), and Zhang Zhijun, director of China's Taiwan Affairs Office, will discuss issues such as in what name both sides would agree for Taiwan to join the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and how to cooperate in a crackdown on economic crime, MAC vice chairwoman Wu Mei-hung said.