The Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Kuomintang (KMT) party agreed on Wednesday that a forum on economic and trade affairs between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan will be held in Beijing from April 14 to 15.

The decision was made when Chen Yunlin, director of the Taiwan Work Office of the CPC Central Committee, and a delegation of the think tank of Kuomintang, held talks.

The forum will be jointly sponsored by a research center of the Taiwan Work Office of the CPC Central Committee and a research fund of Kuomintang. It will focus on cross-Strait economic and trade exchanges and opening direct transport link.

About 300 people, including high-level officials of the CPC and KMT and businessmen and scholars from the two sides of the Strait, will attend the forum, according to the talks.

The forum was originally scheduled to be held last December in Taipei. It was forced to change venue and time because of obstruction of the Taiwan authorities.

(Xinhua News Agency March 23, 2006)