Taiwan wants deeper trade ties to EU, says President Tsai

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said progress needes to be accelerated on a stalled bilateral investment agreement with the European Union. 

Tsai made the comments while meeting a seven-member delegation from the European Parliament's Committee on International Trade on Tuesday in Taipei. She said the two partners should build a "resilient democratic alliance."

Tsai also expressed her appreciation to the European Parliament having for passing more than 10 resolutions in support of Taiwan this year. These include backing Taiwan's participation in international organizations, expressing concerns over peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and urging the EU to engage with Taiwan in green technology and digital economy.

What's the state of EU-Taiwan relations?

The EU had included Taiwan on its list of trade partners for a possible bilateral investment agreement in 2015. But no talks have been held about the issue so far.

The EU and its member states do not have formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, but they are the island's largest source of foreign investment. China considers Taiwan as one of its provinces.

"Taiwan seeks to enhance bilateral economic and trade exchanges, strengthen supply chain security and accelerate progress on the Taiwan-EU bilateral investment agreement, which would instill confidence in businesses on both sides to expand investments," Tsai said.

"The EU recognises that our partnership in trade and investment with Taiwan is a strategic relationship with geopolitical implications," EU delegation leader Anna-Michelle Asimakopoulou said. She also commended Taiwan's measured response to Chinese aggression.

She added that the EU and Taiwan shared common values such as democracy and human rights.

Asimakopoulou highlighted the importance of collaboration regarding global supply chains because Taiwan plays a leading role in the semiconductor industry.

Taiwan and the EU held-high level trade talks in June. But soon after, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC)  said it had no concrete plans for factories in Europe.

TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker had said ast year that it was reviewing a potential expansion into Germany, but there has been no progress on that. 

tg/sms (AFP, Reuters)