Taiwan strengthens partnership with Texas

2024/07/09

President Lai Ching-te welcomed deeper ties with Texas, anticipating that strengthened collaboration will advance Taiwan-U.S. partnership across the board.

The president made the remarks while receiving a delegation led by Texas Governor Greg Abbott July 7 at the Presidential Office in Taipei City.

According to Lai, investment in the U.S. state by Taiwan businesses has exceeded US$12 billion. Taiwan became its ninth-largest export market in 2023, with a trade volume of US$11.5 billion, he said.

Taiwan is ramping up its artificial intelligence, defense, next-generation communication and semiconductor industries, Lai said, adding that the country can benefit from working more closely with Texas’ mature counterpart sectors.

Lai also lauded the opening of the State of Texas Taiwan Office, which he said would create myriad new cooperation opportunities between the two sides. Texas is the 23rd U.S. state to set up such a center in Taiwan, he added.

The president took the opportunity to express appreciation for Abbott’s support of academic exchanges, as evidenced by the establishment of the first Mandarin center at the University of St. Thomas in Houston. This was followed by the first Center for Taiwan Studies launched at the University of Texas at Austin in 2021, Lai added.

In response, Abbott said Taiwan plays an important global role in innovation, semiconductors, technology and trade and has contributed significantly to democracy and peace. The governor pledged to assist Taiwan corporations in Texas to ensure smooth development.

Later the same day, Abbott and Economic Affairs Minister Kuo Jyh-huei inked a statement of intent on economic development, which is expected to lay a foundation for collaboration in electric cars, energy resilience, innovative technologies and semiconductors, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said.

At the signing, Kuo said Texas is a major investment target for Taiwan corporations and vowed that the ministry would cooperate with the state government to foster a robust supply chain ecosystem. 


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