台灣問題是中共整體外交政策與對外經貿政策的一項常數。與台灣的經貿關係是中共台灣策略的重要成份，因為中共領導人相信兩岸經貿互動最終將會影響與形塑台灣的大陸政策。雖然中國大陸與東協的FTA最初的理論基礎未必是源自北京的對台策略，但是中共必然會以中國大陸與東協的FTA對台灣施壓迫台早日三通以及對大陸採取更開放的政經政策。 　　台灣是東亞的第四大經濟體。任何東亞經濟整合不包含台灣毫無疑問地就不算是整合完成。而就台灣的政經未來而言，台灣是經不起被摒除在東亞的區域經濟整合與全球化的過程之外的。 　　中國大陸是加拿大的第四大出口市場，而台灣則是加國亞太地區的第五大出口市場。因此，台海兩岸加入WTO、兩岸的區域FTA協定的走向以及兩岸關係的未來發展所帶來的商業環境的變遷都會對加拿大造成實質的影響。就中國大陸言，北京在加入WTO時所做出的廣泛承諾將會實質減少其外貿與投資的障礙，增加其貿易規範的可預測性與透明度。中國大陸是世界第一大消費市場，且其購買力不斷提升，因而更開放的中國大陸市場將會為加國的商品與服務業貿易帶來重大的商機。同時，更開放的經濟也使大陸更能吸引加國企業前往投資。而另一方面，中國大陸致力FTA協定雖然可使大陸開放市場的承諾有多邊與雙邊的雙重保障，不致走回頭路，對加拿大肯定有利，不過也使加國與北京簽有FTA的鄰邦進行貿易競爭時居於不利的地位。同樣地，台灣的WTO入會也會為加國企業與貿易商帶來更多的商機，尤其是化學、醫藥、造紙業、醫學儀器、資訊、航太與農產品等業者。台灣在未來在WTO架構下簽訂政府採購協定將為加國企業增加更多商機。此外，由於加拿大素以維持和平與製造和平享譽國際，渥太華當局或可在台海兩岸間扮演和事佬的角色促成兩岸關係的穩定與制度化。

A most phenomenal feature of the existing global trading system seems to be the coexistence of multilateralism as embodied in the World Trade Organization (WTO) and a growing number of bilateral and regional preferential trade arrangements as illustrated mostly in free trade areas (FTA). In the eyes of many people FTAs look quite at odds with WTO’s most salient principle of “Most Favored Nation” (MFN), which implies equal treatment for all WTO members. Under WTO’s Article 24, however, regional preferential trade arrangements in the form of customs unions and FTAs are openly permitted on the basis of the rationale that such regional arrangements could serve as a supplemental and practical route to the universal free trade that WTO advocates as its ultimate goal. As such, FTAs are now widely accepted as supplementary, rather than detrimental, to WTO. Through its WTO accession and its move to negotiate a FTA with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) at the end of 2001, China has actively responded to this symbiosis in the global trading system. While China’s efforts to join the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT), which evolved into WTO in 1995, started as early as 1986, its move to explore and negotiate a FTA with ASEAN is the result of Beijing’s most recent foreign economic policy adjustment. However, these two developments of 2001 in China’s foreign economic relations represent a new stage of the nation’s policy of opening to the outside world and are logically related to each other. They will not only substantially transform China’s economic relations with the outside world, but also bring significant impact on the political economy in East Asia in general and cross-Straits relations in particular. This article attempts to explore China’s recent policy initiatives and moves toward regional FTAs with neighboring economies in the context of cross-Straits mutual WTO membership, Taiwan’s responses and the implications thereof for Canada. The article is organized into six sections. The first section looks at China’s recent moves to explore FTAs with neighboring economies in East Asia. The second part examines the recent decision of Chian and ASEAN to negotiate a FTA between them. The third section speculates on how the China-ASEAN FTA will pose a challenge to Taiwan’s China policy. The fourth part discusses the effects of the mutual WTO membership of Taiwan and China on cross-Straits relations in the context of Beijing’s moves toward regional FTAs. The fifth section analyzes how Taiwan is exploring its own FTAs as a response to the external imperative. The concluding section speculates on the implications of this development in the cross-Straits relationship for Canada.