China plans to sign a key financial pact with Taiwan later this month as a reward for the island barring a visit by Uighur leader Rebiya Kadeer, a report here said Thursday. The two sides are likely to ink the agreement on financial co-operation by the end of October, allowing closer ties in the banking, insurance and securities industries, the Commercial Times reported.
It cited remarks by China's Taiwan Affairs Office officials to Taiwanese businessmen in Beijing ahead of the mainland's October 1 National Day. The arrangement was made after Taiwan decided last week to prevent exiled Kadeer, branded a "criminal" in Beijing, from making a trip to the island, the paper said.
In another sign of improving ties, the Bank of China, one of the mainland's big four state-owned commercial lenders, will set up a representative office in Taiwan after the October 1 holiday, the report said. The two sides have also tentatively decided to hold a new round of negotiations in mid-December in Taiwan's Taichung city to discuss a major trade pact, it said.