China has expressed concern about Taiwan's restrictions on Chinese investment. Beijing also hopes that Taipei guarantees the Chinese right to export goods to the island, a right that Taiwan has promised to grant in the World Trade Organization (WTO), but which it would not then keep.
Chinese concerns were expressed during the "Trade Policy Review" for Taiwan, i.e. the third meeting of the WTO dedicated to this country which took place in recent days in Geneva and was attended by, among other actors, the deputy minister of Chinese Economic Affairs Cho Shih-chao.
Since joining the WTO in 2002, Taiwan has imposed import restrictions on two thousand Chinese industrial and agricultural products. Furthermore, compared to what happens for other foreign investments, Taipei has imposed strict limits on Beijing's investments on Taiwanese soil.
During the review meetings, WTO members try to learn as much as possible about other member countries in order to give impetus to the subsequent Doha rounds. According to Chinese sources, other countries have expressed doubts about Taiwan's tariff policies, especially with regard to agriculture. Finally, during the meeting, the World Trade Organization notified the trade agreement (Anztec) between Taiwan and New Zealand and the agreements between Taiwan and Singapore (Astep).
Attachments: The China Post article
