Taiwan should adopt a balanced development strategy and avoid overly relying on a single market to drive its export-oriented economy on the world stage, the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Taipei said yesterday.
“Taiwan should pursue greater balance by consolidating its economic connections with such other major markets as Europe, Japan, Southeast Asia and especially the United States, the world’s biggest economy,” AmCham chairman Bill Wiseman told a media briefing on the release of the organization’s annual white paper.
Wiseman’s warning came a few hours before the release of Taiwan’s latest trade data, which showed China accounting for 40.2 percent of exports last month, while the US took only 12.3 percent.
“Over-reliance on one market is always risky,” Wiseman said. “Taiwan should not turn away growth when it can get it, but it needs to lock in the future. It needs to go and start broadening its economic relationships beyond focusing so much on China.”
Taiwan is almost doubly dependent on China, which drove 47 percent of the country’s economic growth last year, sharply higher than the 25 percent average with the G20 nations, he said.
With South Korea about to enter into free-trade agreements with the US and the EU, Taiwan should step up its efforts to avoid losing its competitive edge to its main trade rival, Wiseman said.
The paper, however, recognized the value of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement that Taiwan and China signed in June last year and it encouraged the Taiwanese government to deepen cross-strait cooperation in sectors such as finance, chemicals, real estate, retail, telecoms, transport and medical devices.
AmCham, the largest foreign trade group in Taiwan, with more than 900 members representing about 500 companies, will take its latest position paper to Washington next month when its members meet with US lawmakers.
The organization suggested that President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Democratic Progressive Party Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) — both of whom are running for the presidency next year — use the paper as a reference when formulating policies to assure Taiwan’s long-term economic gains.
Taiwan continues to face difficult challenges for its future economic development, despite its improvement in rankings in global competitiveness surveys, AmCham said.
The paper called for enhanced government efficiency, transparency and consistency — including greater attention to long-range planning instead of mainly reacting to short-term challenges.
The organization found that of the 114 issues and sub-issues raised last year, only 14, or 12.3 percent, were resolved or showed satisfactory progress — the lowest in its history of tracking issues seven years ago.
The chamber also encouraged Washington to pay increased attention to strengthening economic ties with Taiwan as the country is its ninth-largest trading partner.
“If the current dispute over beef prevents the holding of trade talks, other channels should be found to work on the important trade issues between the two sides,” Wiseman said.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS