Taiwanese bankers stationed in Shanghai voiced hope yesterday for a quick start of cross-strait financial cooperation, as Chen Yunlin (陳雲林), China’s top negotiator with Taiwan, left for Taipei for a historic visit.
Although financial issues have not been included in the current round of talks in Taipei between Taiwan’s Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) and China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS), the bankers contended that the two sides should collaborate to address the negative consequences of the ongoing global financial crisis, which is not expected to end soon.
COOPERATION
They called for speedy cooperation between the two sides to minimize the impact on both sides and address the extant problems, such as allowing Taiwan-based banks to open branches in China to serve Taiwanese businessmen there.
At present, almost all major Taiwan-based banks and stocks and securities firms have opened offices in China — mainly in Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen and Kunshan.
CHEN VISIT
Meanwhile, Chen landed at the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport later yesterday for a five-day visit as head of a 60-member delegation, including executives of China’s major banks.
In a written statement issued upon arrival, Chen called for continued and systematic SEF-ARATS negotiations to push for increased exchanges between the two sides.
ITINERARY
Later in the day, Chen paid a visit to the widow of late SEF chairman Koo Chen-fu.
Today he is scheduled to hold talks with SEF Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤), after which the two men are expected to sign four agreements on the expansion of cross-strait air services, the opening of shipping and postal links and a food safety cooperation mechanism.
He also plans to visit Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Chairwoman Lai Shin-yuan (賴幸媛) today.
In the coming days, the ARATS chairman plans to meet various Taiwanese political and business leaders.
He also plans to visit several science and industrial facilities before flying back to Beijing.
Chen and Chiang met for the first time in Beijing in June and clinched two landmark pacts on tourism and the opening of direct weekend passenger charter flights across the Taiwan Strait, paving the way for their second meeting in Taipei.
Taiwan’s long-term economic competitiveness will hinge not only on national champions like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC, 台積電) but also on the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies, a US-based scholar has said. At a lecture in Taipei on Tuesday, Jeffrey Ding, assistant professor of political science at the George Washington University and author of "Technology and the Rise of Great Powers," argued that historical experience shows that general-purpose technologies (GPTs) — such as electricity, computers and now AI — shape long-term economic advantages through their diffusion across the broader economy. "What really matters is not who pioneers
In a high-security Shenzhen laboratory, Chinese scientists have built what Washington has spent years trying to prevent: a prototype of a machine capable of producing the cutting-edge semiconductor chips that power artificial intelligence (AI), smartphones and weapons central to Western military dominance, Reuters has learned. Completed early this year and undergoing testing, the prototype fills nearly an entire factory floor. It was built by a team of former engineers from Dutch semiconductor giant ASML who reverse-engineered the company’s extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) machines, according to two people with knowledge of the project. EUV machines sit at the heart of a technological Cold
TAIWAN VALUE CHAIN: Foxtron is to fully own Luxgen following the transaction and it plans to launch a new electric model, the Foxtron Bria, in Taiwan next year Yulon Motor Co (裕隆汽車) yesterday said that its board of directors approved the disposal of its electric vehicle (EV) unit, Luxgen Motor Co (納智捷汽車), to Foxtron Vehicle Technologies Co (鴻華先進) for NT$787.6 million (US$24.98 million). Foxtron, a half-half joint venture between Yulon affiliate Hua-Chuang Automobile Information Technical Center Co (華創車電) and Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), expects to wrap up the deal in the first quarter of next year. Foxtron would fully own Luxgen following the transaction, including five car distributing companies, outlets and all employees. The deal is subject to the approval of the Fair Trade Commission, Foxtron said. “Foxtron will be
INFLATION CONSIDERATION: The BOJ governor said that it would ‘keep making appropriate decisions’ and would adjust depending on the economy and prices The Bank of Japan (BOJ) yesterday raised its benchmark interest rate to the highest in 30 years and said more increases are in the pipeline if conditions allow, in a sign of growing conviction that it can attain the stable inflation target it has pursued for more than a decade. Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda’s policy board increased the rate by 0.2 percentage points to 0.75 percent, in a unanimous decision, the bank said in a statement. The central bank cited the rising likelihood of its economic outlook being realized. The rate change was expected by all 50 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The
RSS