Minister of Economic Affairs Yiin Chii-ming headed for Singapore yesterday to attend a meeting of the trade ministers of APEC economies.
Yiin said prior to his departure that he would meet Chinese Minister of Commerce Chen Deming (陳德銘) on the sidelines of the APEC meeting and exchange views with him on issues regarding the proposed signing of an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.
Taiwan is hoping to sign the pact with China to avoid being marginalized amid the current trend of regional economic integration.
FEASIBILITY
Both sides are separately examining the feasibility of the proposed framework and may conduct joint research as well before launching formal negotiations, which may begin later this year.
Mainland Affairs Council Chairwoman Lai Shin-yuan (賴辛媛) said on Tuesday in a speech in the US that Taiwan expects to sign the proposed ECFA with China next year to pave the way for eventual normalization of bilateral trade and economic relations.
Director-general of the Bureau of Foreign Trade Huang Chih-peng (黃志鵬) left for Singapore ahead of Yiin to arrange for the minister to meet WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy, bureau officials said.
Huang will also arrange for Yiin to meet with his counterparts from six to 10 APEC member economies on the sidelines of the summit, the officials said.
APEC THEMES
The APEC meeting tomorrow and Wednesday will focus on three themes: resolving the global economic crisis, speeding up regional economic integration and rejecting protectionism in favor of a multilateral trading system.
Officials from the trade bureau said a statement would be issued at the end of the APEC meeting to express the 21-member forum’s strong opposition to relying on protectionism to fight the economic downturn.
The statement will also call on governments to focus instead on economic and social restructuring.
Semiconductor shares in China surged yesterday after Reuters reported the US had ordered chipmaking giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to halt shipments of advanced chips to Chinese customers, which investors believe could accelerate Beijing’s self-reliance efforts. TSMC yesterday started to suspend shipments of certain sophisticated chips to some Chinese clients after receiving a letter from the US Department of Commerce imposing export restrictions on those products, Reuters reported on Sunday, citing an unnamed source. The US imposed export restrictions on TSMC’s 7-nanometer or more advanced designs, Reuters reported. Investors figured that would encourage authorities to support China’s industry and bought shares
FLEXIBLE: Taiwan can develop its own ground station equipment, and has highly competitive manufacturers and suppliers with diversified production, the MOEA said The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) yesterday disputed reports that suppliers to US-based Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) had been asked to move production out of Taiwan. Reuters had reported on Tuesday last week that Elon Musk-owned SpaceX had asked their manufacturers to produce outside of Taiwan given geopolitical risks and that at least one Taiwanese supplier had been pushed to relocate production to Vietnam. SpaceX’s requests place a renewed focus on the contentious relationship Musk has had with Taiwan, especially after he said last year that Taiwan is an “integral part” of China, sparking sharp criticism from Taiwanese authorities. The ministry said
CHANGING JAPAN: Nvidia-powered AI services over cellular networks ‘will result in an artificial intelligence grid that runs across Japan,’ Nvidia’s Jensen Huang said Softbank Group Corp would be the first to build a supercomputer with chips using Nvidia Corp’s new Blackwell design, a demonstration of the Japanese company’s ambitions to catch up on artificial intelligence (AI). The group’s telecom unit, Softbank Corp, plans to build Japan’s most powerful AI supercomputer to support local services, it said. That computer would be based on Nvidia’s DGX B200 product, which combines computer processors with so-called AI accelerator chips. A follow-up effort will feature Grace Blackwell, a more advanced version, the company said. The announcement indicates that Softbank Group, which until early 2019 owned 4.9 percent of Nvidia, has secured a
TECH SECURITY: The deal assures that ‘some of the most sought-after technology on the planet’ returns to the US, US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said The administration of US President Joe Biden finalized its CHIPS Act incentive awards for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), marking a major milestone for a program meant to bring semiconductor production back to US soil. TSMC would get US$6.6 billion in grants as part of the contract, the US Department of Commerce said in a statement yesterday. Though the amount was disclosed earlier this year as part of a preliminary agreement, the deal is now legally binding — making it the first major CHIPS Act award to reach this stage. The chipmaker, which is also taking up to US$5 billion
RSS