Mainland, Taiwan negotiators review their achievements

Zheng Lizhong (L), vice president of mainland-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS), shakes hands with Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) Vice Chairperson Shih Hui-fen during the third review of the results from cross-Strait talks, in Taipei, Southeast China's Taiwan, Nov 30, 2015. [Photo/Xinhua]

TAIPEI - Negotiators from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan met on Monday to review achievements in their talks since 2008.

The Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) and its Taiwanese counterpart the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) looked back on 11 rounds of cross-Strait talks which led to 23 agreements.

They removed a lot of systemic barriers in exchanges and smoothed interaction between the two sides, said ARATS vice president Zheng Lizhong, who led the mainland negotiators in the review.

The review was designed to ensure future talks are pragmatic and continue to benefit ordinary people across the Straits, he said.

Zheng called on the two sides to consolidate trust by adhering to the 1992 Consensus, a key document denying Taiwanese independence.

"The main reason that cross-Straits talks have made so much progress is that we have stuck to this common political foundation," he said.

"Although the two sides have followed different development paths and held different positions on certain issues, there is one common ground that none of us prefer conflict over peace, separation over exchange nor confrontation over cooperation."

Shih Hui-fen, SEF vice chairperson, told the meeting that cross-Straits talks have covered issues that are vital to ordinary people's lives, such as business exchanges, tourism, travel, judicial cooperation and natural disaster responses.