The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) yesterday rejected criticism of the recent influx of Chinese trade delegations, saying that the trips help boost the economy.
“The Chinese delegations to Taiwan are critical as the government works to help local companies explore the demands of the mainland market. They are a boon to Taiwan’s economy, which has been hard hit by the global financial crisis and saw exports plunge of late,” the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry’s response came in the wake of criticism by pan-green politicians who said the growing number of visits by Chinese delegations was a political tactic aimed at overwhelming Taiwan with Chinese money, while weakening the nation’s opposition to Beijing’s unification strategy.
A number of procurement groups have visited this year, including delegations from Beijing as well as Sichuan and Guangdong provinces. A 3,000-member delegation from Jiangsu Province arrived on Monday for a six-day visit. The group includes government officials and representatives of 61 companies.
“These delegations came to Taiwan to procure products from our highly competitive industries, from display panels and chemicals to electronics, handsets and plastics,” the ministry said.
Orders from these trips would total at least US$13.7 billion, the ministry said. Of that, more than US$5.5 billion in orders were signed during the trips, while the rest would come when the delegations returned home and placed orders after further negotiations with Taiwanese companies.
These deals would boost Taiwan’s exports in the following months, the ministry said.
Exports expanded 7.5 percent to US$19.8 billion last month — the highest level in a year, Ministry of Finance statistics showed on Monday.
Figures from China’s customs authority indicated that Taiwanese exports to China rose to US$9.27 billion in September from US$7.19 billion in June, the MOEA said in its statement.
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