Chen Yunlin (L, Front), president of Chinese mainland-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) and Chiang Pin-kung (R, Front), chairman of the Taiwan-based Strait Exchange Foundation (SEF), exchange gifts after signing an agreement on cross-strait health cooperation in Taipei, southeast China's Taiwan, Dec. 21, 2010. (Xinhua/Song Lidong)

TAIPEI, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) -- Chinese mainland and Taiwan negotiators signed a medical and health care cooperation agreement in Taipei Tuesday in a move to jointly combat epidemics and ensure the quality of traditional Chinese medicine.

The agreement covers medication, medical devices, cosmetics and health products. It aims to guarantee the health of people on both sides of the Strait and promote cross-Strait medical exchanges.

The agreement includes: timely notification of infectious disease; strengthened disease prevention measures and handling of major epidemics; enhanced cooperation in pharmaceutical research and safety management; exchange in traditional Chinese medicine research and quality guarantees; and cooperation in handling medical emergencies.

Some 90 percent of the traditional Chinese medicine used in Taiwan comes from the mainland.

The agreement was inked at talks between the mainland's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) and Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), which are the two bodies authorized to handle cross-Strait affairs.

ARATS President Chen Yunlin said cross-Strait medical cooperation is urgently needed "given the increasing number of people and goods traveling across the Strait."

SEF Chairman Chiang Pin-kung said the agreement, together with the previously signed farm product inspection and quarantine agreement and a food safety deal, form a safety net across the Strait.