China's consumer price index (CPI), an indicator of inflation, grew 3 percent year on year in November, down from the 3.2 percent in October, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on December 9.

In the first 11 months of 2013, China's CPI rose 2.6 percent year on year, well below the government's full-year target of 3.5 percent.

Yu Qiumei, a senior statistician with the NBS, said prices of food, which account for roughly one third in the weighting of China's CPI calculations, edged down slightly on the whole in November.

Compared to October, November's CPI contracted 0.1 percent and food prices dropped 0.2 percent. Prices of non-food products remained no change.

NBS data also showed China's producer price index (PPI), which measures inflation on a wholesale level, contracted 1.4 percent year on year in November, following a 1.5-percent drop in October.

Cross-Straits Bonds

The fifth regular meeting of the Cross-Straits Economic Cooperation Committee (ECC) concluded in Taipei on December 10, with plans formed for closer economic cooperation between the mainland and Taiwan.

Gao Yan, the mainland's chief representative to the ECC and Vice Commerce Minister, said at a press conference after the meeting that the ECC will continue promoting the Early Harvest Program under the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), which was signed in 2010 to reduce tariffs and commercial barriers between the mainland and Taiwan.

The Early Harvest Program was designed to help people across the Taiwan Straits enjoy the benefits of the ECFA before full liberalization of economic ties between the mainland and Taiwan.

All commodities under the program became tariff free on January 1, 2013. According to official statistics from the mainland, a total of $550 million worth of tariffs were cut for commodities imported from Taiwan from January to October. According to statistics from Taiwan's customs, imports from the mainland were exempted from tariffs and were worth more than $50 million during the same period.

By October, the program had benefited 216 non-financial Taiwan enterprises and 40 Taiwan financial institutions. Nine Taiwan accounting firms had obtained a one-year license for conducting auditing business on the mainland. Also, 14 Taiwan-made movies had been screened in mainland cinemas, according to mainland official statistics.