Taiwan and the EU Work Together to Launch a New Chapter

In recent years, the global political and economic situations are changing rapidly. Taiwan's relations with other countries and regions in the world must be closer in order to maintain Taiwan's competitive advantage in this uncertain time. In particular, Europe, as one of the most important economies in the world, is a partner that Taiwan cannot ignore. Taiwan is also intensively linking up with the EU to strengthen the cooperation between the two sides in investment and industrial collaboration.
The "EU Investment Forum" co-organized by the European Economic and Trade Office, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on September 22 was hosted by Filip Grzegorzewski, Head of European Economic and Trade Office, and President Tsai Ing-wen was invited as the guest of honor. Taiwanese companies including Delta, Everlight, and Advantech also actively participated. The grand event attracted more than 500 registrants.

Taiwan and the EU Deepen Cooperation with Complementary Strengths

In her speech, President Tsai Ing-wen pointed out that, for Taiwan, the turbulence in the eyes of others is an opportunity for prosperity and building a global partnership. Therefore, despite the uncertainty in the global market, Taiwan is still actively expanding international cooperation, and this is the first event to bring Taiwan and 15 EU member states together under the same roof, creating a bilateral investment platform.
For the first time, representatives of EU member states gathered together to create a bilateral investment platform. This landmark forum is the most important event for Taiwan and the EU this year. It represents that the two sides are opening a new page of trade and investment partnership on the basis of solid cooperation.
Examples like European companies investing in the construction of wind farms in Taiwan, and Taiwanese companies such as Giant and AUO investing in the EU show the close relationship between Taiwan and Europe.President Tsai Ing-wen also mentioned that the government has launched the "Three Major Programs for Investing in Taiwan" since 2019 to enhance investor confidence. Currently, it has attracted more than NT$1 trillion in investment and created more than 92,000 job opportunities. On the other hand, while cautiously preventing the pandemic outbreak, Taiwan is also working hard to encourage investment to keep Taiwan's economy on track. Therefore, when the global economic growth rate is forecast to shrink by 5.1% this year, Taiwan maintains an estimated growth rate of 1.56%, ranking first in the Four Asian Dragons (Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong).
President Tsai Ing-wen also emphasized that Taiwan has been actively creating a sound investment environment and providing a fair and predictable business climate, therefore has attracted the EU to increase investment in Taiwan. In 2019, the EU's total investment amount accounted for 25% of the total foreign investment in Taiwan, making it the largest source of FDI. Currently, Taiwan and the EU have close cooperation in wind power, biomedicine, ICT and other industries. Looking to the future, President Tsai believes that under the shared value of freedom, democracy, and the rule of law, Taiwan and the EU will build stronger economic and trade relations. President Tsai hopes that the EU and its member states can support the signing of the "Taiwan-EU Bilateral Investment Agreement" (BIA) as the cornerstone for a successful future.
In his speech, Filip Grzegorzewski, Head of European Economic and Trade Office, said that behind the dramatic changes are the birth of new opportunities. Just like the impact of COVID-19 has revealed the vulnerabilities of countries and magnified the existing problems of the international supply chains and trade, but the pandemic has also provided unprecedented opportunities for cooperation between Taiwan and the EU. The EU is a single market with 450 million consumers. People, capital, goods, and services can circulate freely within all member states, and the EU possesses advanced and innovative industrial technologies. Taiwanese companies are welcome to invest and join hands to link the world together.
Mei-Hua Wang, Minister of Ministry of Economic Affairs, cited the two original ideas behind the forum proposed by Filip Grzegorzewski in 2019 to illustrate the special significance of this event. First, Taiwan and the EU have had close trade exchanges in the past, but in terms of investment, the proportion of Taiwanese companies investing in Europe still has room for growth.
Secondly, Taiwanese and European companies are highly complementary, especially in the fields of ICT, machinery, and semiconductors. There are many possibilities for cooperation to be explored in these sectors. In the current global economy, finding and establishing a partnership of trust has become the key to the global strategic thinking of various countries. Taiwan and the EU can become great partners for each other, and the Ministry of Economic Affairs is also very willing to promote the deepening of Taiwan-European bilateralinvestment and economic cooperation.

Building an EU Investment and Exchange Platform

This forum is the largest annual event held in Taiwan, gathering 15 EU member states for the first time. In addition to the keynote speeches, the organizer focused on three themes: "ICT ", "Mobility/Automotive", and "Bio-Tech/Healthcare", inviting governmental and industrial representatives from the EU and Taiwan to share information on the investment environment, regulations and policies, incentive measures, industry status and market potential of the EU and individual member countries. Participants can interact directly with experts in the EU through video conference, initiating opportunities for bilateral innovation cooperation between Taiwan and Europe. Among the sub-forums, heavyweight speakers from France, the Netherlands, Sweden, Luxembourg, Poland and Taiwan were invited to share their insights on the ICT' industry's future at the ICT sub-forum, which is chaired by Mr. Richard Lee, Chairman of TEEMA. The attendees had exchanges and interactions with the speakers, allowing Taiwanese companies to better understand the environment and current status of investing in the EU.
A EU investment expo was also held at the event site. The representative offices of the 15 EU member states in Taiwan, TAITRA, and InvesTaiwan set up booths to showcase local investment highlights and business opportunities. The expo attracted interested investors to conduct face-to-face meetings, providing a platform for Taiwan-EU investment.
In 2020, COVID-19 and the trade war have changed people's daily lives, as well as the global economy and trade, resulting in the reorganization of the global supply chain. At this critical moment of rapid change, Taiwan must closely cooperate with other countries and economies. Since Europe not only possesses advanced industrial technologies, but also has a huge market, it is undoubtedly a partner that Taiwan must work closely together to create a new future.