Negotiators from the Chinese mainland's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) and Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) will meet in Taiwan's Taichung in mid or late December for a new round of talks.

The decision was agreed on Tuesday in Hangzhou by Zheng Lizhong, deputy chief of the ARATS, and Kao Kung-lian, vice chairman and secretary general of the SEF, according to statements issued by the organizations Wednesday.

The two sides agreed to prepare for four topics of discussion, but did not disclose further details.

They also discussed how mainland donations to Taiwan's victims of Typhoon Morakot would be used for disaster relief.

Fan Liqing, spokeswoman of the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, confirmed the information Wednesday at a regular press conference, but would give no other details.

Fan said academic studies on signing an agreement on economic cooperation across the Taiwan Strait had been basically completed and talks could be launched before the end of this year, but she declined to comment when asked if the new round of talks between the ARATS and the SEF would cover this subject.

"Respective studies by the mainland and Taiwan show that such an agreement would be in the interests of people on both sides and promote economic development across the Strait," she said.

Fan also said that financial regulatory bodies on the mainland and Taiwan had been "actively exchanging ideas" on signing a memorandum of understanding on financial regulation across the Strait.

"The two sides have made smooth progress and will try to sign it as soon as possible," she said.

The ARATS and the SEF signed an agreement on cross-Strait financial cooperation in April at the third meeting of their leaders.

The Taichung talks will be the fourth round of meetings between ARATS and SEF leaders since last year.

Founded in 1991 and 1990 respectively, the ARATS and SEF are authorized by the mainland and Taiwan to handle cross-Strait exchanges. The two organizations agreed to meet twice a year on the mainland and Taiwan in turn, after cross-Strait negotiations resumed last June following an almost 10-year suspension.?