The government says its plan to sign an Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) with China is not a zero-sum game.

The director of the Board of Foreign Trade Huang Chih-peng said Thursday that the pact could actually bring "new benefits" to Taiwan.

"There are benefits created by the ECFA. It's a bit like a trade transfer. Taiwan could have more exports if China lowers its tariffs. This is not a zero-sum game or how many benefits that [China or Taiwan] gets. There are benefits created by [both sides]," said Huang. 

Huang also gave the example of the standard international practice of signing a Free Trade Agreement. He said as long as an evaluation report shows that the mutual benefits brought by such an agreement are greater than the negative impact, the two countries involved will go ahead with their plans.

The Council of Labor Affairs said signing the pact would create more than 100,000 job opportunities in Taiwan. But a labor union said Thursday the pact would only create low-paying jobs that do not require many skills and would result in more professionals leaving Taiwan to work in China.