Taiwan-China Trade Agreement: What it Means
![Chen Yunlin (R), the head of a semi-official Chinese agency, shakes hands with his Taiwan counterpart Chiang Ping-kun, chairman for the Taiwan's Strait Exchange Foundation, after they signed the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) in Chongqing on June 29, 2010. (Sam Yeh/AFP/Getty Images)](/sites/default/files/styles/1200w/public/T/taiwanchina.jpg)
Taiwan signed a game-changing trade agreement with China today that ends its economic isolation and increases the chances for lasting peace in the Taiwan Strait.
"Despite fears in Taiwan that led tens of thousands to protest in Taipei over the weekend that the agreement is yet one more step toward eventual assimilation into the Chinese mainland, there is little to fear," says Asia Society Associate Fellow Sheridan Prasso. "Free trade will instead help Taiwan strengthen its own economy and put it into a stronger position vis-à-vis China."
Read Prasso's article "Taiwan-China trade agreement: A game changer" for Fortune magazine.