Formal negotiations on a proposed cross-Taiwan Strait economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) could begin next January at the earliest, visiting Taiwan Economic Affairs Minister Shih Yen-shiang said Friday. Shih, who is here to attend the ministerial officials' meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, noted that Taiwan and China completed their fourth informal talks on principles related to the early harvest list under the agreement, and whether there should be more informal talks is 'still uncertain.' The early harvest list refers to those items that should be given priority for tariff concessions or full opening as soon as a framework agreement is signed. Shih expressed the hope that both sides could set the direction of ECFA talks on the sidelines of the APEC summit meeting as Lien Chan, Taiwan's envoy, is scheduled to meet with Chinese President Hu Jintao Saturday. Negotiators from Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) and China's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) can then informally touch on the ECFA issue in their upcoming round of talks scheduled to take place in December in Taiwan before entering into formal negotiations in January next year, Shih said. The SEF and ARATS are intermediary bodies authorized to deal with cross-strait exchanges in the absence of official ties between the sides. In the formal negotiating stage, both sides will have to discuss the substantive content and review each clause individually, including the items on the early harvest list and identify the items eligible for tariff concessions. 'It will be a protracted process at this stage,' Shih said, adding that he was not sure when both sides could complete the formal negotiations. Meanwhile, Vice Economic Affairs Minister Liang Kuo-hsin said Friday in Taipei that many sectors hope that formal negotiations will begin after the December SEF-ARATS meeting, but the exact date and format have yet to be decided. 