269期两岸经贸大事纪

4/1        大陆《有机产品认证管理办法》施行

大陆国家质检总局修订发布的《有机产品认证管理办法》自2014年4月1日起施行，市场上销售的有机产品，有机配料含量（指重量或者液体体积，不包括水和盐）95%以上的加工产品，在获得有机产品认证后，才可加上有机码、认证机构名称或有机产品认证标志。违反规定而在产品或者产品包装及标签上标示含有「有机」、「ORGANIC」等字样可能误导公众者，可处人民币3万元以下罚款。

4/3        行政院通过「台湾地区与大陆地区订定协议处理及监督条例」草案

行政院会通过「台湾地区与大陆地区订定协议处理及监督条例」草案（简称「两岸协议监督条例」），函请立法院审议。因考量社会大众对于两岸协议监督及有无影响国家安全的高度关注，有必要透过更公开透明的程序，以利国会与社会各界检视、了解协商过程及内容，行政院大陆委员会因此拟具该草案，结合「四阶段对外沟通咨询机制」及「国家安全审查机制」提出此一草案。

4/4        第8届台美「贸易暨投资架构协定(TIFA)」会议在美国华府举行

第8届台美「贸易暨投资架构协定（TIFA）」会议在美国华府举行，由经济部卓次长士昭及美国代理副贸易代表Wendy Cutler担任双方主谈人，双方就投资、多边及区域合作、智慧财产权、医药品、技术性贸易障碍及农业等进行讨论。我方并在会中向美方说明台湾推动加入TPP的制度性改革情形，表达希望成为美国推动亚太经济整合的建设性伙伴。

4/6        我国银存款金额近31兆续创新高

金管会统计，39家国银的存款总额，去年1月时约28.9兆元，去年9月首度跨越30兆元，截至今年2月底已达30.93兆，属定期性存款金额占比超过4成，其次是活期性存款、公库存款等。存款余额排名居首的台银存款余额达3.39兆元；民营银行部分，以中国信托吸收存款金额达1.72兆元最多。目前39家国银逾放比都低于2％，平均逾放比则为0.35％，持续创下新低，而备抵呆帐覆盖率352.08％，也再创新高，国银资产品质维持历来最佳的状态。

4/8        2014年博鳌亚洲论坛海南举行

2014年第13届博鳌亚洲论坛，4月8日至11日在海南举行，主题为「亚洲的新未来：寻找和释放新的发展动力」，并聚焦于「改革」、「创新」及「可持续发展」三大主轴，探讨亚洲和新兴经济体如何进行结构性的改革。我代表团由前副总统萧万长担任团长，10日与大陆总理李克强见面时表示，未来两岸双方须以新的观念和作法，从三大面向突破合作瓶颈。一是积极推动两岸经济战略对话及政策协调；二是积极建构合作型的两岸自由贸易关系；三是积极面对台湾参与区域经济整合的严肃问题，化解台湾经济遭到边缘化的疑虑。

4/15     林中森董事长率文化参访团赴云南、山东

海基会林中森董事长于4月15日至4月21日率领「海基会文化参访团」赴云南、山东等地进行7天参访。林董事长一行除于云南与海协会会长陈德铭会晤外，并在与云南省委书记秦光荣、山东省委书记姜异康会见时表示，两岸同时将文化产业列为未来发展重点，希望加强两岸文化交流。期间参观云南大学国家文化产业研究中心、孔庙及泰山等世界文化遗产，亦参访台商红木家具产业、参观寿光蔬菜博览会等。在与西南西北地区台商协会会长及潍坊台商座谈时，除听取台商投资经营遭遇的问题，并向各地台商说明过去签署协议的执行成效。

4/16     陆客来台自由行人数调高至每日4千人

内政部移民署4月16日起调高陆客来台自由行人数配额，从每日3,000人调高至4,000人，有助提升陆客来台人数、增加台湾观光业产值。今年首季，陆客自由行入境人数已超过25万人，平均每月有8万名自由行陆客入境。观光局估算，陆客自由行在台以每人每天消费245.34美元计算，增加1,000名陆客，每天可为台湾观光相关产业增加新台币700多万元收入。在陆客团客方面，首季入境人数达52万人，3月单月达22万人次，创下陆客团体旅游开办以来的单月新高。

4/16     大陆首季GDP成长率7.4%

大陆国家统计局发布，2014年第一季经济成长率7.4%，为24年来最低水准，也不如官方公布7.5%成长目标。大陆国务院总理李克强表示，第一季经济成长增速处于年度预期目标范围内，经济运行保持在合理区间，目前没有扩大赤字并采取「强刺激」的考虑。

4/18     大陆FDI 14个月首见负成长

大陆商务部公布，今年3月份的实际使用外资（FDI）为122.4亿美元，创下近9个月以来的新高，但却比去年同期下滑1.47％，是2013年1月以来首度负成长，第一季的FDI总额为315亿美元，成长5.5％。在亚洲国家中，首季东协对大陆投资实际金额为19.66亿美元，成长7.84％，保持稳定。香港成长11.29％，南韩对大陆投资则暴增162％。

4/18     采认大陆学历　增18所

教育部宣布，增加采认18所大陆地区高等教育机构的学历，目前采认名单已达129所。原认可的111所大学，以综合大学为主，艺术类、体育类、音乐类各只有1所，这次补上15所专业教学水准高的独立学校。另外，教育部也将大陆3个科学研究机构纳入采认，包括中国科学院、中国科学院大学、中国社会科学院。依照「大陆地区学历采认办法」规定，采认追溯至2010年9月3日当学期或以后取得的学位，1992年9月18日至2010年9月2日间取得的学位，则需参加学历甄试。

Chronicle of Cross-strait Economic and Trade Events

May, 2014  No.269

4/1        Mainland enacts Administrative Measures for Organic Product Certification

The mainland's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) announced that the revised "Administrative Measures for Organic Product Certification" came into effect on April 1, 2014. The measures stipulate that products sold on the market may only be affixed with an organic code, along with the name of the certification body or organic product certification mark, only if 95% or more of the processed product is made with organic ingredients (by weight or liquid volume, excluding water and salt) and the product passes organic certification. Companies violating the provisions through the misleading use of word "organic" on their products or product packaging and labeling may be subject to fines up to RMB30,000.

4/3        Executive Yuan approves draft Statute for the Processing and Monitoring of Agreements between the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area

The Executive Yuan approved Statute for the Processing and Monitoring of Agreements between the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area draft (the "Cross-strait Agreement Supervisory Act" ) and submitted it to the Legislative Yuan for deliberation. The act responds to the high level of public concern over cross-strait agreement supervision and the impact of the agreements on national security, as well as demands for a more open and transparent process. The draft statute was formulated by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) to facilitate congressional and the public review and understanding of the negotiation process through a "four-stage external communication and consultation mechanism" and "national security review mechanism."

4/4        8th TIFA meeting held in Washington, DC

The 8th Taiwan-US Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) meeting was held in Washington, DC. Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Cho Shih-chao and U.S. Acting Deputy Trade Representative Wendy Cutler served as chief negotiators for the two sides. During the meeting, the two sides discussed issues related to investment, multilateral and regional cooperation, intellectual property rights, pharmaceuticals, technical barriers to trade and agriculture. The Taiwan side briefed the U.S. side on the status of institutional reforms related to Taiwan's bid to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and expressed hope that Taiwan could become a constructive partner of the U.S. in promoting economic integration in the Asia-Pacific region.

4/6        Taiwan bank deposits reach a new high of nearly NT$31 trillion

According to statistics compiled by the Financial Supervisory Commission, the total deposit amount at Taiwan's 39 domestic banks totaled NT$30.93 trillion as of the end of February this year. The figure stood at about NT$28.9 trillion in January last year and crossed the NT$30 trillion mark for the first time last September. Time deposits accounted for more than 40% of the total, followed by demand deposits and public treasury deposits as the next biggest categories. The Bank of Taiwan, Taiwan's biggest deposit taker, had a total deposit balance of NT$3.39 trillion. Among private banks, Chinatrust had the highest deposit amount at NT$1.72 trillion. All 39 domestic banks have non-performing loan (NPL) ratios below 2%, with the average NPL ratio at a record low 0.35%. At the same time, the banks' coverage ratio of allowance for uncollectable accounts stood at 352.08%, also a record high, indicating that the asset quality of domestic banks is at an all-time high.

4/8        2014 Boao Forum for Asia held in Hainan

The 13th Boao Forum for Asia was held on April 8 to 11 in Hainan under the theme "Asia's New Future: Identifying New Growth Drivers." The forum explored structural reforms for Asia and emerging economies, focusing on the three keynotes of "reform," "innovation" and "sustainable development." Former vice president Vincent Siew led the Taiwan delegation. During a meeting with mainland Premier Li Keqiang on April 10, Mr. Siew urged the two sides to embrace new ideas and practices in the future and overcome bottlenecks to cooperation in three major regards: 1) actively promoting cross-strait economic strategic dialogue and policy coordination; 2) actively establishing cooperative cross-strait free trade relations; and 3) actively facing the serious issue of Taiwan's participation in regional economic integration to defuse concerns over the marginalization of Taiwan's economy.

4/15     Chairman Lin Join-sane leads cultural mission to Yunnan and Shandong

SEF Chairman Lin Join-sane led an "SEF Cultural Mission" to Yunnan, Shandong and other areas in the mainland for a seven-day visit from April 15 to 21. Chairman Lin and the delegation met with ARATS Chairman Chen Deming in Yunnan. During meetings with Yunnan Provincial Committee Secretary Qin Guangrong and Shandong Provincial Committee Secretary Jiang Yikang, Chairman Lin noted that both sides are prioritizing development of cultural industries and expressed hope that the two sides could strengthen exchanges in this area. The delegation also visited the National Research Center for Cultural Industry at Yunnan University, the Confucius Temple, Taishan and other world cultural heritage sites, as well as Taiwanese mahogany furniture companies and the Shouguang Vegetable Expo. During meetings with the presidents of Taiwan Business Associations in southwest and northwest China and Taiwan businesspeople in Weifang, the delegation listened to the investment and operational problems encountered by Taiwanese companies and explained the results of the cross-strait agreements signed to date.

4/16     Taiwan raises the daily quota for independent travel by mainland tourists to 4,000 arrivals

The National Immigration Agency under the Ministry of the Interior increased the daily quota for independent travel to Taiwan by mainland tourists to 4,000 arrivals, up from 3,000 originally. The higher quota will help to increase the number of mainland tourist arrivals to Taiwan and boost the value of Taiwan's tourism industry. In the first quarter this year, the number of independent mainland tourist arrivals exceeded 250,000, representing a monthly average of more than 80,000. The Tourism Bureau forecasts that the increased quota will generate more than NT$7 million per day in new revenue for tourism-related industries, based on estimated average daily spending of US$245.34 per person by independent mainland tourists in Taiwan. In the group tourist segment, Taiwan received 520,000 arrivals from the mainland in the first quarter of the year. The single month figure for March reached an all-time record high of 220,000.

4/16     Mainland GDP grows by 7.4% in the first quarter

The National Bureau of Statistics announced that the mainland economy grew at an annual pace of 7.4% in the first quarter of 2014. This was the lowest level in 24 years and also fell short of the official growth target of 7.5%. PRC Premier Li Keqiang said that the pace of economic growth in the first quarter was within range of the forecast annual target and that the economy continued to operate in a reasonable range. He added that there are no plans to expand deficit spending or take "strong stimulus" measures.

4/18     Mainland FDI contracts for the first time in 14 months

Mainland China's Ministry of Commerce announced that the amount of actually utilized foreign direct investment (FDI) in March this year reached a nine-month high of US$12.24 billion, but fell 1.47% year-over-year, marking the first retreat since January 2013. FDI in the first quarter gained 5.5% to US$31.5 billion. Among Asian countries, the actual amount of ASEAN investment in the mainland in first quarter was US$1.966 billion, up by 7.84%, while investment from Hong Kong increased by 11.29% and investment from South Korean surged by 162%.

4/18     Taiwan adds 18 mainland schools to list of recognized academic credentials

The Ministry of Education (MOE) announced that it would recognize academic credentials from 18 additional institutions of higher education in the mainland area, bringing the total number of qualifying institutions to 129. Integrated universities account for the bulk of the previously approved 111 institutions, with only one institution each in the art, sports and music categories. Among the new additions, 15 are independent schools with high professional teaching standards. The MOE also added three scientific research institutes, including the Chinese Academy of Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. According to provisions in the Regulations on Recognition of Academic Credentials from the Mainland Area, recognition applies retroactively to degrees earned from the semester starting on September 3, 2010. A test of educational diploma is required for degrees earned from September 18, 1992 to September 2, 2010.