This year, Canada is the rotating chair of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Taiwan should not only take this as a chance to break free from its international limitations, but also see it as an opportunity to deepen ties with Canada before the North American nation renews its China policy.
Canada is an important member of the G7, and with it being the rotating chair of the CPTPP, Taiwan should strive to make headway toward its application to join the partnership.
At the very least, Taiwan should work toward negotiating a bilateral trade agreement with Canada, similar to what it has with the US.
The Canada-China relationship has been antagonistic for several years. This can be traced back to 2018, when Canadian police arrested Huawei Technologies Co chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou (孟晚舟) at the request of the US. Soon afterward, Beijing retaliated and imposed economic countermeasures and even detained two Canadian citizens on accusations of espionage.
In 2020, due to the changes in their relationship, Canada shelved the idea of a free-trade agreement with China.
Last year, Canada expelled a Chinese diplomat from his post in Canada for targeting Canadian lawmaker Michael Chong’s (莊文浩) family in Hong Kong in 2021 following Chong’s condemnation of China’s conduct in Xinjiang.
In September of that year, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) unyielding foreign policy made it extremely difficult for the two countries to maintain a normal relationship. He said there was no longer any space for reconciliation.
Recently, Canada announced that it would levy a 100 pecent tariff on imports of China-made electric vehicles and a 25 pecent tariff on Chinese steel and aluminum imports starting next month.
Meanwhile, Canada’s relationship with Taiwan has taken a positive turn.
In September 2021, when Taiwan applied to join the CPTPP just six days after China submitted its application, Canada did not support Taiwan’s bid.
However, this attitude changed in 2022.
In 2022 Trudeau said that the threshold for CPTPP was so high that it would be difficult for China to join.
In March last year, the Canadian parliament published a report titled “Canada and Taiwan: A Strong Relationship in Turbulent Times.”
In May this year, US and Canadian warships passed through the Taiwan Strait, with officials saying they would continue to do so in the future.
Also this year, the Canadian government said it suspects China interfered in the past two Canadian elections.
Canada’s relationship with Taiwan and China is like a seesaw. When Canada drifts away from one country, it becomes closer to the other.
Taiwan is eligible to join the CPTPP as according to Article 5 of the CPTPP, any state or separate customs territory may accede to the agreement.
If the main factor influencing Taiwan’s ability to join the CPTPP is China, then deepening associations, holding friendly exchanges and sharing a common goal with other countries are the nation’s best opportunity to break free from these limitations.
As the CPTPP’s rotating chair, Canada can be the guide and leader. In the meantime, Taiwan should work to break through the initial phase of informal consultation while lobbying for Canada and Taiwan to negotiate a bilateral trade agreement.
Chang Meng-jen is chair of Fu Jen Catholic University’s Department of Italian Language and Culture and coordinator of the university’s diplomacy and international affairs program.
Translated by Kyra Gustavsen
US President Donald Trump has gotten off to a head-spinning start in his foreign policy. He has pressured Denmark to cede Greenland to the United States, threatened to take over the Panama Canal, urged Canada to become the 51st US state, unilaterally renamed the Gulf of Mexico to “the Gulf of America” and announced plans for the United States to annex and administer Gaza. He has imposed and then suspended 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico for their roles in the flow of fentanyl into the United States, while at the same time increasing tariffs on China by 10
US President Donald Trump last week announced plans to impose reciprocal tariffs on eight countries. As Taiwan, a key hub for semiconductor manufacturing, is among them, the policy would significantly affect the country. In response, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) dispatched two officials to the US for negotiations, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC) board of directors convened its first-ever meeting in the US. Those developments highlight how the US’ unstable trade policies are posing a growing threat to Taiwan. Can the US truly gain an advantage in chip manufacturing by reversing trade liberalization? Is it realistic to
Last week, 24 Republican representatives in the US Congress proposed a resolution calling for US President Donald Trump’s administration to abandon the US’ “one China” policy, calling it outdated, counterproductive and not reflective of reality, and to restore official diplomatic relations with Taiwan, enter bilateral free-trade agreement negotiations and support its entry into international organizations. That is an exciting and inspiring development. To help the US government and other nations further understand that Taiwan is not a part of China, that those “one China” policies are contrary to the fact that the two countries across the Taiwan Strait are independent and
Trying to force a partnership between Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) and Intel Corp would be a wildly complex ordeal. Already, the reported request from the Trump administration for TSMC to take a controlling stake in Intel’s US factories is facing valid questions about feasibility from all sides. Washington would likely not support a foreign company operating Intel’s domestic factories, Reuters reported — just look at how that is going over in the steel sector. Meanwhile, many in Taiwan are concerned about the company being forced to transfer its bleeding-edge tech capabilities and give up its strategic advantage. This is especially
RSS