A deal that will shape Taiwan’s economic future in Asia
Kao Koong-lian (R), the head of the Taiwanese delegation, shakes hands with Zheng Lizhong, vice president of the quasi-official Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits, during the Taiwan and China trade talks at in Taipei on June 24, 2010. (Photo: Sam Yeh/AFP/Getty Images)

Author: Xinpeng Xu, Hong Kong Polytechnic University and ANU

Hailed as the biggest change in cross-strait relations in 60 years, the significance of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) to Taiwan lies beyond changes in cross-strait relations. The ECFA ingrains Taiwan’s industry into the economic fabric of the growingly integrated East Asia and marks a new era for the future of Taiwan’s economic fortune.

The ECFA is a proposed trade agreement that requires the opening up, albeit gradually, of markets on both sides of the Strait. Read more…