TAIPEI ? Taiwan's top trade official flew to China Wednesday for informal trade talks, the island's Central News Agency reported.

Huang Chih-peng, director of the Bureau of Foreign Trade, was due to arrive in Beijing later in the day for informal negotiations on a proposed trade agreement with China, the agency said.

Huang is also due to meet China's commerce minister Chen Deming on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Singapore next week, the report said.

Economic minister Shih Yen-shiang declined to comment on the report.

Taiwan Monday called off a visit to China by Huang and his delegation after Beijing said it needed more time to prepare, the latest in a series of delays in the talks.

The proposed trade pact, known as the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, is regarded by Taiwan as a crucial step towards a freer flow of personnel and goods across the Taiwan Strait.

The China-friendly government of president Ma Ying-jeou is aiming for an agreement to be signed early next year, arguing it could lift the island's economic growth by one percentage point as both sides strive to normalize ties.

However, the opposition, which favors independence from China, has warned the pact could imperil the island's separate status.

Taiwan and China split at the end of a civil war in 1949, but Beijing still considers the island part of its territory, vowing reunification, even if it has to use force.