Senior envoys from China and Taiwan signed an agreement Tuesday to cooperate in the development of new drugs, as the two economies continue to move closer. The pact is the 15th commercial agreement the two sides have struck since Ma Ying-jeou took over as Taiwan's president 2 1/2 years ago, promising to improve relations with the mainland. The new medical agreement will facilitate cross-strait exchanges of information on epidemics in each other's territories and cooperation in the development of vaccines to counter any outbreak. The deal also will allow the two sides to work together on the clinical trial of new drugs. Chinese envoy Chen Yunlin and his Taiwanese counterpart, Chiang Pin-kung, signed the deal during meetings in Taiwan's capital, Taipei, the Associated Press reported.
