Taiwan, China to exchange offices

BEIJING, June 12 (Agencies): Taiwan and China agreed Thursday for the first time ever to set up permanent offices in each others' territories as the two sides met for their first formal talks in more than a decade, an official with one of the delegations said. The agreement to set up the offices, which will coordinate continuing contacts, was reached during talks Thursday morning in Beijing, a spokeswoman for Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation said, speaking on routine condition of anonymity. She said a formal announcement would be made later.

The agreement came on the first day of meetings between the foundation and its mainland counterpart, the first formal talks between the sides since 1999.

Foundation Deputy Secretary-General Pang Chien-kuo told China's official Xinhua News Agency the offices would "facilitate people's exchanges and traveling across the Strait."