China's Envoy Says Taiwan Talks to Focus on Economy བོད་སྐད།

China's top negotiator with Taiwan says he will discuss only economic and not political issues when he visits the island next week.

Chen Yunlin will lead a 60-member delegation of Chinese bankers and businessmen on his five-day visit to Taiwan.

He told reporters Thursday that talks with his Taiwanese counterpart, Chiang Pin-kung, will focus on trade, shipping, food safety, postal services and ways to cope with the global economic crisis.

In a televised interview (broadcast Wednesday), Taiwan's leader Ma Ying-jeou said he will meet the delegation in his official capacity as the island's president.

Taiwan and China split during a civil war in 1949 and Beijing claims the self-ruled island is part of its own territory.

The two sides do not have formal ties, but communicate with one another through semi-official agencies.

Chen Yunlin heads China's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait, while Chiang Pin-kung is the head of Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation.

Chiang visited Beijing in June paving the way for next week's talks.

Earlier this month, Taiwanese pro-independence protesters attacked another Chinese envoy who was visiting the island to attend an academic seminar.