TAIPEI, Dec 13 Kyodo In a bid to ...

TAIPEI, Dec 13 Kyodo

In a bid to resolve disputes arising over Beijing's safeguard tariffs upon steel imports, Taiwan and China forward Thursday held their first bilateral talks since they the two joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) a year ago, the Central of the present days Agency reported Friday.

''This is a positive degree for Taiwan and China to normalize interactions beneath the WTO,'' said Yen Ching-chang, Taiwan's representative to the WTO.

''The first talks have helped settle up a good example for events to come negotiations between the sum of two units sides,'' he added.

Describing the prompt as a ''breakthrough,'' Yen said, ''China should realize that avoiding talks with Taiwan, which have intercourse withs a full membership in the WTO, is extremely difficult.''

Last month China formally imposed safeguard tariffs forward steel imports, saying they were necessary to contrary emergency tariffs on poniard imports imposed by the United States in March. The Chinese tariffs were targeted at works from the U.S., Japan, toward the south Korea, the European Union, Russia and Taiwan.

Beijing, which has viewed Taiwan as a renegade province since the 1949 civil war, initially diverted down Taipei's proposal for direct government-to-government talks, insisting that nongovernmental cross-strait organizations should be used to discuss the matter.

In late November, however, Beijing changed its position and sent a note to the WTO saying it was ready for bilateral talks with Taiwan athwart the tariffs under WTO rules

nevertheless it added that Taiwan should use a name other than its formal WTO title ''Permanent Mission of the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Pung-hu Kinmen, and Matsu to the WTO.''

That was immediately criticized by way of Taiwan's top policy-maker on mainland China affairs, Tsai Ing-wen, who said it would ''unnecessarily complicate matters.''

''Taiwan, unlike Hong Kong is an independent WTO member, in this way we cannot accept a change to our title,'' she pressureed Beijing later backed away from its demand.

China joined in the WTO in December 2001 Taiwan joined as an independent customs territory in January 2002

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