Singapore said Wednesday it will begin formal negotiations with Taiwan on a trade liberalization deal early next year, after both sides concluded separately that such a pact would be mutually beneficial.

The announcement, made by the Singapore Trade Office in Taipei and its Taiwanese counterpart in Singapore, comes six months after Taiwan sealed a groundbreaking trade agreement with China.

Singapore is the first country to discuss a trade deal with Taiwan since the cross-strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, inked in June.

The Singapore Trade Office said in a statement the two countries “have completed their respective feasibility studies and concluded that an economic cooperation agreement between the two sides would offer significant mutual benefits.”

Talks would begin “early next year,” it said without giving a date or venue.