Building an economic dialogue platform to enhance mutual trust on trade and economic issues across the Taiwan Strait is more practical than China's proposal of a military-based mutual trust mechanism, Taiwan Premier Sean Chen said yesterday.
"The Taiwan government values Beijing's proposal on establishing military confidence-building measures between Taiwan and China," Chen said yesterday in response to a ruling lawmaker's question on the issue.
The premier, however, stressed that such a mechanism, though important, is not as urgent as for both sides to build a sound two-way economic dialogue platform to encourage closer exchanges. Economic dialogue is expected to have a more significant impact on Taiwan, especially during times of economic sluggishness.
Chen's remarks came as a response to a prepared report by China's President Hu Jintao — who doubled as general secretary of the Communist Party of China — at the opening of the party's 18th National Congress in Beijing Thursday.
Hu's report suggested that Taiwan and China could negotiate a military mutual trust mechanism to stabilise the situation across the Strait and negotiate a cross-strait peace agreement for the peaceful development of ties between both sides.
Asked to comment on the issue late Thursday, military spokesman Luo Shou-he said the time is not yet ripe for establishing military confidence-building measures between Taiwan and China.
The current situation in the cross-strait relationship "is not mature" enough for building a military mutual trust mechanism across the Strait, Luo said.
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