The upcoming second round of talks on a wide-reaching trade pact between China and Taiwan will focus on 'early harvest' programs for merchandise and services, an official said Monday. 'Negotiators from the two sides will conduct substantive talks on the lists of services and manufacturing industries to be subject to immediate tariff concessions or exemptions, ' said Liu Te-shun, vice chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), which charts Taiwan's policy toward China. On reports that the Taiwan-proposed 'early harvest' lists may be restricted or cut back, Liu said it was impossible for anybody to know their exact content prior to negotiations. The early harvest lists are considered the core of the proposed cross-strait economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) , which is also expected to touch on more general issues affecting trade such as intellectual property rights and legal protection of investments. The quasi-official Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) announced earlier in the day that a second round of the ECFA talks will be held in Taiwan March 31-April 1. In the ECFA talks, Liu said, Taiwanese negotiators will definitely do their utmost to secure the greatest possible benefits for the country. 'Our negotiators will adhere to the principle of 'putting Taiwan first for the benefit of the people' in efforts to secure the best possible benefits for our country,' Liu said. According to SEF sources, the upcoming ECFA talks will be held at Ta Shee Resort, a luxury hotel situated next to one of Taiwan's top golf courses in Taoyuan County, some 40 kilometers south of Taipei. During the talks, negotiators will exchange views on each other's 'early harvest' lists covering both the manufacturing and service sectors. On the manufacturing front, the sources said, Taiwan will target 500 items to be subject to immediate tariff reductions or exemptions, with the petrochemical, machinery, mid- and upper-stream textiles, auto parts and flat panel sectors considered to be the top priorities. As to the service sector, banking and other financial services will top the list, the sources said, adding that the Cabinet-level Financial Supervisory Commission will send officials to join the talks. Since both sides hope to have the ECFA signed by the end of May or early June, the sources said, the second round of talks will prioritize negotiations on market access for financial service providers. The issue of whether retailers and logistics services should be included in the 'early harvest' list will rank second in priority, the sources said. Meanwhile, the two sides will also discuss the text of the agreement. China reportedly hopes to include wording on the normalization of cross-strait trade and economic relations. Taiwan, however, reportedly does not want to make any clear reference to that goal for the moment and would prefer to leave some maneuvering room. More negotiations may be needed in this area, the sources said. The Taiwanese delegation will be headed by Huang Chih-peng, director-general of the Bureau of Foreign Trade (BOFT) under the Ministry of Economic Affairs, while Tang Wei, head of the Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau Department under China's Ministry of Commerce, will lead the Chinese delegation. The Chinese delegation will be composed of board members of the Beijing-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) and officials of China's trade and economic departments, who will attend the meeting as ARATS advisers. The Chinese negotiators will have arrived in Taipei in several groups by Tuesday, according to the SEF. Tang has been in Taiwan since March 25, when he arrived with Jiang Zengwei, China's vice commerce minister, to attend a seminar on commodity branding. Members of Taiwan's delegation will include Lee Li-chen, head of the Mainland Affairs Council's (MAC's) Department of Economic Affairs, and Wu Mei-hung, head of the MAC's Department of Legal Affairs, as well as officials of the BOFT, the Financial Supervisory Commission, the Industrial Development Bureau, the MAC, the SEF and other relevant government agencies. The SEF and ARATS are quasi-official intermediary bodies authorized to handle cross-strait exchanges and negotiations in the absence of official ties. The first round of ECFA talks took place in Beijing Jan. 26. 