Taiwan will send its top trade negotiator to next week’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) ministerial meeting in mainland China – a rare occurrence since the two sides cut off official communication in 2016.
Analysts said the move suggested both sides were still trying to preserve a workable status quo within the regional forum despite worsening cross-strait tensions.
The Apec trade ministers’ meeting will be held in Suzhou, a city in Jiangsu province, between May 22 and 23. Yang Jen-ni, a minister without portfolio and chief negotiator at Taiwan’s Office of Trade Negotiations, will lead the delegation.
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The meeting is being closely watched in Taipei because mainland China is hosting all major Apec events this year – culminating in the summit in Shenzhen in November – at a time when relations with Beijing remain deeply strained under Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te.
Beijing reignited concerns this week after the State Council’s Taiwan Affairs Office said on Wednesday that the mainland would handle Taiwan’s participation “in accordance with the one-China principle and relevant Apec memorandums of understanding and practices”.
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Taipei swiftly rejected the remarks.