Taiwan and US to sign first trade deal under new framework amidst China tensions.

Taiwan and the United States will sign the first deal under a new trade talks framework, the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade, on Thursday, boosting economic cooperation between the two countries. The pact is not expected to alter goods tariffs, but proponents say it will strengthen economic bonds between the United States and Taiwan, open the island to more U.S. exports, and increase Taiwan's ability to resist economic coercion from China.