President Tsai celebrates long and productive relationship

2024/04/01

President Tsai Ing-wen thanked the American Chamber of Commerce for its contributions to the long-lasting economic and business partnership between Taiwan and the United States. Tsai said she believed that the two countries would continue to move forward together on the solid foundation of the path of freedom and democracy.

Tsai made the remarks during the Amcham 2024 Hsieh Nien Fan, March 28 in Taipei City, organized annually to thank Taiwan government officials for their support of the international business community and to which distinguished guests from both the Taiwan and U.S. governments are invited.

AmCham has always been an important business bridge for Taiwan, the president noted, while lauding AmCham Taiwan’s work with the government to upgrade the business environment. She also welcomed the new Chairperson Dan Silver and the new President Patrick P. Lin, and looked forward to further deepening economic and trade relations. 

Tsai spoke about the economic and business achievements of the last eight years to the gathering, as well as citing initiatives like the "Taiwan Can Help" campaign that sent a clear message to the international community that Taiwan is a responsible member of the global village. 

Despite the challenges of the pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war, Tsai noted that economic growth in Taiwan has been stable. The country was rated the 6th most competitive economy in 2023 by Swiss-based International Institute for Management Development (IMD) while the nation ranked fourth in the 2024 Index of Economic Freedom released by Washington, D.C.-headquartered think tank The Heritage Foundation. 

Since 2016, the government has been promoting the Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program, the six core strategic industries and the Pathway to Net-Zero Emissions in 2050 while the 2017 AI Taiwan Action Plan has also been recently upgraded to meet new challenges. 

Most importantly, this year is the 45th anniversary of the Taiwan Relations Act, the cornerstone of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, which has brought Taiwan and the United States closer not just in security and defense, but also in trade. The United States is Taiwan’s second largest trading partner and the third largest source of foreign investment, Tsai added.

The most recent milestone in the relationship is the signing of the first agreement of the Taiwan-U.S. Initiative on 21st-Century Trade, with the second phase of negotiations already underway, which Tsai welcomed, saying it created an even stronger foundation for bilateral partnership.

The president concluded by thanking AmCham for its work over the past eight years and noted president-elect Lai Ching-te’s National Project of Hope to consolidate Taiwan’s journey to democracy as a source of pride. Tsai said that together on the path of freedom and democracy, Taiwan and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce would continue to set and achieve new, higher goals.


Source: Noticias de Taiwan (https://taiwantoday.tw/index.php)