The government will invite more than 100 local manufacturers to join a trade delegation to India in May in an effort to encourage investment there and reduce the emphasis on China.
Taiwan's economy has become increasingly reliant on China, its biggest export market. Taiwanese businesses and individuals have invested about US$100 billion across the Strait.
The aim of the India delegation "is to help reduce the risk of focusing investment on one country," the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a statement issued late on Friday on its Web site.
Mindful of China's ambition to annex Taiwan, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) in a Jan. 1 speech changed his administration's cross-strait economic and trade policy to "active management, effective opening," from the "active opening, effective management'' approach practiced since 2001.
The government must proactively take on the responsibility of management in order to effectively reduce the risks of liberalization toward China, Chen said.
The May 7 to May 18 trade visit to India aims to facilitate Taiwanese manufacturers' "global investment to upgrade [their] competitiveness," the statement said. The delegation will also visit Bangladesh, it said.
India has a huge potential domestic market, cheap labor costs, quality talent and abundant natural resources, the statement said.
The ministry said it also plans to hold an investment forum around this month and next in Taipei to help Taiwanese manufacturers make the right investment decisions in India, focusing on industries such as information technology, communications, car parts, food processing, textile, tourism and venture capital.
RSS