TAIPEI - A delegation headed by Chinese mainland's chief negotiator on cross-Strait affairs Chen Yunlin arrived here Monday for a new round of talks with Taiwan, at which the two sides are expected to reach a medical and health cooperation agreement, the 15th under the current cross-Strait framework.

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The talks between Chen, president of the mainland's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS), and Chiang Pin-kung, chairman of Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), are scheduled for Tuesday at Taipei's Grand Hotel.

It will be the sixth round of talks between the two leaders since the two organizations, authorized to handle cross-Strait issues by the mainland and Taiwan, resumed negotiations in June 2008 after a 9-year suspension.

Chiang said at the welcome ceremony that cross-Strait relations had progressed over the past two years since Chen visited Taipei for the first time in November 2008 for the second round of talks between the two organizations.

He said among the four follow-up deals of the cross-Strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), signed by the two sides in June, Taiwan businessmen paid great attention to the investment protection agreement, which would be touched upon during Tuesday's talks.

At a preparatory consultation last week in Shanghai, the two sides agreed to reach a consensus on the investment protection agreement at the upcoming talks, and would sign the deal soon, possibly at the next round of talks in 2011, in order to meet two-way investment needs across the Strait.

The mainland has been Taiwan's largest trading partner and export market since 2007, according to statistics released by both sides.

Also at the welcome ceremony, Chen Yunlin said the idea of signing an investment protection agreement was put forward as early as 1993. Since 1994, the mainland had formulated many rules concerning Taiwanese investment in the mainland.

Chen said the investment protection agreement was related to "immediate interests of Taiwan businessmen investing in the mainland."

"However, investment protection concerns many aspects and departments, and we have not yet reached a deal that satisfies both Taiwan and mainland investors, so it's a pity that we could not sign the deal this time, but it's normal," he said.

Chiang Pin-kung said the ARATS and SEF are expected to sign a medical and health cooperation agreement Tuesday, which "concerns people's interests" and will boost the growth of the medical sector on both sides.

The pact will touch upon prevention and treatment of infectious diseases, research and development of drugs, research and safety management of traditional Chinese medicine, as well as cooperation in handling medical emergencies, according to Taiwan authorities.

Chen Yunlin said cross-Strait medical cooperation was urgently needed given the increasing number of people and goods traveling across the Strait.

Further, he said the mainland's 12th Five-Year Program (2011-2015) on economic and social development would "bring new opportunities to cross-Strait economic cooperation."

He added that the Taiwan people had given "great support and understanding to the ARATS-SEF consultations."

ECFA effect

Chiang Pin-kung said the signing of the ECFA helped drive the island's economic growth, which was expected to approach 10 percent this year.

He said the 14 pacts signed by the two sides during the past five talks had yielded results, and the talks had adhered to the principles of "easier topics first, difficult things second" and "economic issues first, political affairs second."

He said about 1.74 million mainland tourists had visited Taiwan during the first 11 months this year, which had brought about 88 billion New Taiwan dollars ($2.9 billion) to the island.

"Taiwan people have become more hospitable (after an increasing influx of tourists)," he said, adding that direct flights across the Strait had "saved time and cost."

The mainland and Taiwan had also cooperated to combat crimes and seized 1,354 suspects in 25 cases of cross-Strait telecommunications crimes, Chiang said.

The ARATS and the SEF also held a preparatory meeting Monday afternoon in Taipei to decide the agenda of Tuesday's talks and the text of the medical and health cooperation agreement.