By Tiffany Kang, International Affairs Department of TEEMA
Following the reopening of Pennsylvania Trade and Investment Office in Taiwan in March, “Taiwan – Pennsylvania Economic and Technology Cooperation Webinar” was held on April 19, 2022 in Taipei, with the US side joining via video conferencing. Liran Golan, Director of the Pennsylvania Office in Taiwan also attended the physical event in Taipei, and communicated with Taiwanese government officials and business representatives. The webinar was co-organized by Bureau of Foreign Trade, MOEA, Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED), Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York and TEEMA.
The event began with the pre-recorded remarks from Bureau of Foreign Trade Director General Cynthia Kiang and Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf, and was followed by remarks from Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York Ambassador James Lee and TEEMA Chairman Richard Lee. Director General Kiang mentioned that in December 2021, Taiwan’s Economic Minister Wang and the US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo jointly announced a new Technology Trade and Investment Collaboration (TTIC) Framework, which aims to build upon both sides’ strengths and to deepen bilateral economic ties. Governor Wolf pointed out that Pennsylvania and Taiwan trade more than USD 1.1 billion in goods every year, and the state is proud to be home of the US operations of Taiwanese companies such as Crystal Window & Door Systems, Friendwell, Foxconn and Fusheng that invest and create jobs. Ambassador Lee considered Taiwan and Pennsylvania important partners for fulfilling the spirit of the TTIC framework given Pennsylvania’s strength in advanced manufacturing and Taiwan’s advantage in semiconductor technology and its global supply chain. Chairman Lee mentioned that TEEMA plans to attend the 2022 SelectUSA Investment Summit, and looks forward to strengthening trade, investment and technological cooperation with Pennsylvania.
Deputy Secretary of Pennsylvania DCED David Briel highlighted Pennsylvania’s significant technological innovation driven by its talents produced from the state’s world-class universities. US speakers including Dr. Herman Herman, Director of Carnegie Mellon University National Robotics Engineering Center, Joel Reed, Executive Director of Pittsburgh Robotics Network, and the Director of Commercial Business Development at RE2 Robotics shared their insights on Pennsylvania’s strategic industry—smart manufacturing and AI. As for the Taiwan side, Kenmec Mechanical Engineering, a member of TEEMA, presented Taiwan’s smart manufacturing ecosystem. The webinar is expected to lead to potential business opportunities and strengthen collaboration in smart manufacturing-related industries between Taiwan and Pennsylvania.
