Chen Yunlin (R, front), president of Chinese mainland Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS), shakes hands with Chiang Pin-kung, chairman of the Taiwan-based Strait Exchange Foundation (SEF), during the welcome ceremony held by the SEF in Taipei, southeast China's Taiwan, Dec. 20, 2010. Chen and his delegation arrived here Monday for the six round of cross-Strait talks. (Xinhua/Song Lidong)

TAIPEI, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- A delegation headed by Chinese mainland's chief negotiator on cross-Strait affairs Chen Yunlin arrived here Monday for a new round of talks with Taiwan, at which the two sides are expected to reach a medical and health cooperation agreement, the 15th under the current cross-Strait framework.

The talks between Chen, president of the mainland's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS), and Chiang Pin-kung, chairman of Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), are scheduled for Tuesday at Taipei's Grand Hotel.

It will be the sixth round of talks between the two leaders since the two organizations, authorized to handle cross-Strait issues by the mainland and Taiwan, resumed negotiations in June 2008 after a nine-year suspension.

Chiang said at the welcome ceremony that cross-Strait relations had progressed over the past two years since Chen visited Taipei for the first time in November 2008 for the second round of talks between the two organizations.

He said among the four follow-up deals of the cross-Strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), signed by the two sides in June, Taiwan businessmen paid great attention to the investment protection agreement, which would be touched upon during Tuesday's talks.

At a preparatory consultation last week in Shanghai, the two sides agreed to reach a consensus on the investment protection agreement at the upcoming talks, and would sign the deal soon, possibly at the next round of talks in 2011, in order to meet two-way investment needs across the Strait.

The mainland has been Taiwan's largest trading partner and export market since 2007, according to statistics released by both sides.