Top negotiators from the mainland and Taiwan are holding a new round of talks. Despite the progress made on medical cooperation, the two sides failed to reach an agreement on an investment protocol which would grant better protection to businesspeople operating on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.

The Chairman of Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation, Chiang Ping-kun, and president of China's Association for Relations across the Taiwan Strait, Chen Yunlin, are holding their sixth meeting in Taipei Tuesday.

ARATS president Chen Yunlin said, "We hope the investment protection pact can be completed soon, perhaps it¨s best to sign it at our next meeting."

It was originally hoped Chiang and Chen would sign the investor's protection agreement, aimed at protecting businessmen working on both sides of the strait, at this meeting. However, the talks only succeeded in securing a partial consensus on the issue.

SEF chairman Chiang Ping-kun said, "The deal is a follow up of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement. Although we have held frequent talks, more time is needed to exchange views on certain issues and reach a consensus. The past 14 agreements have greatly boosted exchanges between the two sides, but we can definitely do better."

A main sticking point in negotiating the document is ironing out a dispute arbitration mechanism that both sides can agree on.

Taiwan wants such disputes arbitrated by a third-party international body but the mainland, on the other hand, believes that disputes between the two sides should be settled between themselves.