China will resume importing grouper fish from Taiwan from Friday, the Chinese government announced, a day after angering Taipei with the ending of tariff cuts on some chemical imports less than a month before Taiwanese elections.

China put the grouper ban in place in June of last year saying it had detected banned chemicals, an accusation Taiwan denied, as part of a broader ban on Taiwanese food imports that infuriated the government of the Chinese-claimed island.

China's Taiwan Affairs Office said Taiwanese industry representatives had visited China and provided "rectification" information, so now approved companies can resume grouper exports.

"We are willing to work together with relevant parties on the island to continue to provide assistance for the resumption of the import of Taiwan's agricultural and fishing products into the mainland," it said in a statement carried by China's official Xinhua news agency.

However, Taiwan's agriculture ministry said China was being politically selective in deciding which Taiwanese companies can resume grouper exports and was seeking to "divide Taiwanese fishermen".

"During the process they did not consult with us and did not inform us of the scientific conditions for quarantine, resulting in Taiwan's industry facing no consistent market rules to follow," the ministry said in a statement.

China has already eased some import bans on Taiwanese pineapples, sugar apples and wax apples, which it put in place citing concerns about pests.

On Thursday, Taiwan accused China of economic coercion and election interference after Beijing announced the end of tariff cuts on some chemical imports from the island, saying Taipei violated a trade agreement.

Taiwan's Jan. 13 presidential and parliamentary elections are taking place as China has sought to force Taiwan to accept Chinese sovereignty claims.

Taiwan's government and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) have repeatedly said China is trying to interfere in the vote, whether by military means or with economic pressure, to ensure an outcome favourable to Beijing.

China suspends preferential rates of duty on Taiwan chemical imports

China revoked tax breaks on key Taiwanese chemical imports Thursday, accusing Taipei of breaking a cross-strait trade agreement by implementing policies that were blocking imports of around 2,500 categories of mainland products. 

China revoked tax breaks on key Taiwanese chemical imports Thursday, accusing Taipei of breaking a cross-strait trade agreement by implementing policies blocking imports of around 2,500 categories of mainland products.

Preferential tax rates agreed under a 2010 economic co-operation agreement would be suspended on imports of vinyl chloride, propylene, paraxylene and nine other chemical compounds manufactured in Taiwan effective Jan. 1, the Ministry of Finance said in a news release.

The ministry said a nine-month trade barrier investigation had concluded that Taiwan had "unilaterally adopted discriminatory bans, restrictions and other measures on the export of mainland products, violating the Cross-Strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement" which applies tariff cuts to more than 800 Taiwanese goods imports.

"It is hoped that Taiwan will take effective measures to lift trade restrictions on the mainland," the ministry said.

Differences over trade should be resolved through WTO-mediated talks, Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council said in a statement which condemned the steps taken by Beijing as "economic coercion."

However, analysts said the economic impact of the measures would be minimal because the 12 affected products accounted for only 1.1% of China's imports from Taiwan in the January to November period.

Lin Tze-luen a spokesperson for Taiwan's legislative Executive Yuan, alleged during a press conference that the Chinese probe was politically motivated and deliberately timed ahead of a parliamentary and presidential election due to be held Jan. 13, on the island that China considers a renegade province.

Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party government routinely accuses China of using its economic and military muscle to influence the country's politics. China's overwhelming military superiority and a $156.5 billion trade surplus with the island give it the upper hand on both counts.

Thursday's action was in retaliation for what the commerce ministry probe alleges are blocks by Taipei on imports of 2,509 mainland Chinese mineral, agricultural and textile goods items, a list which it claimed had lengthened in the 13 years since the agreement was signed.

The Kuomintang party -- which favors maintaining the status quo over any steps toward independence -- could benefit from the spat in the upcoming elections next month because a KMT administration offers the prospect of reduced tensions across the Taiwan strait and smoother trade relations.