国内英语新闻:Mainland, Taiwan economic pact open to opinions before formal negotiations: advisory body spo

BEIJING, March 2 (Xinhua) -- The cross-Strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) would be open to opinions of business people on both sides before formal negotiations on details, a political advisory body spokesman said here Tuesday.

Zhao Qizheng, spokesman of the annual session of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), made the remarks at a press conference of the top political advisory body's annual full session, which will open Wednesday.

Zhao also said CPPCC members attending the session would call for "more generous" concessions from the mainland in the ECFA since Premier Wen Jiabao had pledged to make concessions.

"The reason is very simple -- Taiwan compatriots are our brothers," Wen said Saturday in an online chat with Internet users.

Formal negotiations of the pact would be held at the fifth round of talks between the mainland-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) and the island' s Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), two organizations authorized to handle cross-Strait issues.

The basic content of the agreement would cover major economic activities across the Strait, including market access for commodity trade and service trade, rules of origin, early harvest program, trade remedy, dispute settlement, investment and economic cooperation.