Taiwan and its trading partners reached a formal deal on the island's accession to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the WTO announced yesterday. According to a 1992 agreement Taiwan, regarded as a runaway province by China and known as "Chinese Taipei" in the WTO, could finalise a deal to join the WTO only after China's successful formal agreement on accession.

China and its major trading partners reached a formal agreement on WTO membership on Monday. A WTO statement said Taiwan offered a valuable market, once the island emerges from the transitional stages of the deal and lifts trade barriers fully after several years.