Taiwan's reliance on China has continued to increase over the past decade as the nation's exports to China as a ratio of its total exports has continued to grow, the Board of Foreign Trade reported yesterday.
The value of goods and services that Taiwan exported to China in last year constituted 19.6 percent of the nation's total exports for the year. The figure of nearly one-fifth of Taiwan's total exports means that the nation's economy relies on the Chinese market more than any other economy in the world does, officials said.
The board quoted tallies from the Directorate General of Customs showing that Taiwan's exports to China in 1991 amounted to 9.1 percent of the nation's total exports, with the figure gradually increasing to 16.5 percent in 1996, 17.6 percent in 2000 and a record high of 19.6 percent last year.
According to the directorate's tallies, which compared customs statistics of China's major import sources from around the world, South Korea's reliance on the Chinese market increased to 12 percent last year from 9 percent in 1998.
The directorate statistics showed that in the same period, Australia's exports to China as a percentage of the country's total exports rose to 6.2 percent from 4.3 percent, the US' grew to 2.6 percent from 2.1 percent, Japan's increased to 7.7 percent from 5.2 percent, the EU's rose to 2.9 percent from 2.3 percent, and Malaysia's increased to 4.1 percent from 2.7 percent.
The board said found Taiwan was the second-largest source of imported goods and services in China last year, grabbing 11.23 percent of the imported goods and services market. Taiwan was second only to Japan, which grabbed 17.58 percent of the imported goods and services market.
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