World

Taiwan, US could start talks on closer economic ties ‘in a few weeks’

May 27, 2022
Zeph Kim

Officials said the new discussions will “explore concrete ways to deepen U.S.-Taiwan trade and investment relations,” with a focus on institutionalizing cooperation in supply chain resilience, labor, the environment and sustainable development.

An official announcement will come after “the coordination and consultations are conducted,” according to a senior official.

CNN is contacting the White House for comment.

A senior official also told CNN Friday that Taiwan may send a delegation to the SelectUSA summit in Maryland in June. The summit facilitates foreign trade investment in the United States.

Taiwan is excluded from Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), a regional economic plan unveiled by President Joe Biden during his visit to Tokyo earlier this week. The framework is Biden’s attempt to engage a region increasingly under the influence of China.

IPEF is not a trade agreement in the traditional sense. It includes one “pillar” related to trade, but also includes other areas such as making supply chains more resilient, promoting clean energy, and fighting corruption.

The countries participating in the IPEF are Australia, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, along with the United States.

“The future of the twenty-first century economy will be written largely in the Indo-Pacific,” Biden said as he launched the plan.

I had Taiwan She wished Being part of the framework but was excluded from the launch – a move that some analysts believe is likely based on a desire by some members not to stoke tension with China.

Rui Lee, executive vice president of the Chung Hwa Foundation in Taiwan, told Economic Research.

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“Some countries have indicated that the inclusion of Taiwan will promote [the IPEF’s] efficiency, but there were concerns that China would view these countries as picking a side.”

Taiwan plays an important role in global supply chains because it is a world leader in supplying semiconductor chips.
One Taiwanese company in particular – Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) – is the world’s largest contract manufacturer of chips and plays an important role in operating products designed by technology companies such as apple (AAPL)And the Qualcomm (QCOM) And the nvidia (NVDA).

Deserves At nearly $500 billion, TSMC is one of the most valuable companies in Asia, accounting for 90% of the world’s high-end chips.

Rising tensions between the United States and China

The autonomous island of 24 million people has faced increasing military aggression from China in recent months. The Communist authorities in Beijing acquired Asia’s seventh largest economy as part of their territory, although they had never ruled it.

Taiwan has emerged as one of the central issues between China and the United StatesAnd the Biden’s tour of Asia this month centered around Beijing growing influence in Region.

On Monday, Biden said the United States would intervene militarily if China tried to seize Taiwan by force – in what appeared to be a strong warning to Beijing not to copy Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine caused foreign investors to flee Taiwan. Here's why
White House reduce quickly Comments, saying they do not reflect a change in US policy. It’s the third time in recent months — including during a CNN board meeting in October — Biden said the United States would protect Taiwan from a Chinese attack, only for the White House to back off those statements.

Beijing reacted angrily, calling on Washington to “be careful in words and deeds on the Taiwan issue.”

The United States does not have formal diplomatic relations with the authorities in Taipei, but has continued to maintain close relations informal relationships By facilitating economic exchanges and providing Taiwan with defensive weapons to defend itself against invasion.

Last Friday, Taiwan’s chief trade negotiator John Deng held a bilateral meeting with US Trade Representative Catherine Taye in Thailand, during which they agreed to explore ways to deepen trade ties and meet again in the coming weeks to discuss the path forward, according to a readout statement. From the Office of the United States Trade Representative.

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