The nation's reliance on China increased further in the first half of this year, with 39.4 percent of its exports going to China and Hong Kong, the Council for Economic Planning and Development said yesterday.
In a half-year analysis on the country's global trade, the council said that Taiwan's trade surplus with China and Hong Kong amounted to US$29.41 billion during the six-month period, marking 17.3 percent year-on-year growth.
All these numbers indicate that Taiwan has not restricted commercial exchanges across the Taiwan Strait, council officials said.
According to the council's report, the country's exports picked up 16.7 percent in the January-June period from the year-earlier level, while the ratio of its sales to China and Hong Kong surged to 39.4 percent from 38.1 percent recorded a year earlier.
During the same period, imports from China and Hong Kong spiked 15.5 percent and the ratio of imports from the two areas advanced to 12.6 percent of the total.
The council report also said that Taiwan's exports to the US posted a 10.8 percent gain in the first half of the year, with the year-on-year growth rate topping 13.5 percent in the second quarter and 7.9 percent in the first quarter.
In contrast, Taiwan's imports from the US fell 3.8 percent year-on-year, giving the country a trade surplus of US$4.92 billion, up 64.3 percent year-on-year.
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