Taiwan’s financial services sector will be given “WTO-plus” status if it is included on the “early harvest” list of a proposed economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) to be signed with China, Vice Premier Sean Chen (陳冲) said.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Chen said inclusion on the early harvest list would give the sector access beyond that granted to the majority of WTO members.
Taiwan and China wrapped up the third round of negotiations on an ECFA in Beijing on Sunday, reaching a preliminary consensus on the content of the agreement, including its early harvest list of goods and services that will be eligible for preferential tariff treatment or improved market access.
While Chen emphasized that the early harvest list has not yet been finalized, he said some 500 items are expected to be included.
However, “the government is trying hard to harvest a few more items,” he said.
If Taiwanese banks are given WTO-plus status, they will be given preferential treatment by China compared with their foreign counterparts, helping them solidify their footholds in the huge Chinese market.
He said that since many Taiwanese manufacturers have relocated to China, local banks would be able to take advantage of the ties already built with these firms at home to serve them there.
On the other hand, because Taiwan’s financial services sector is much smaller than that of China’s, the country is likely to impose necessary defensive measures to shield the domestic sector from possible damage caused by Chinese competition, he said.
Chen said Chinese negotiators declined to make concessions on polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene and machine tools in which Taiwan is globally competitive, but he indicated the government would continue to discuss them with Chinese officials.
Chen said both sides also need more time to negotiate how to deal with local content and product origin issues for assembled vehicles.
purpose: Tesla’s CEO sought to meet senior Chinese officials to discuss the rollout of its ‘full self-driving’ software in China and approval to transfer data they had collected Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk arrived in Beijing yesterday on an unannounced visit, where he is expected to meet senior officials to discuss the rollout of "full self-driving" (FSD) software and permission to transfer data overseas, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Chinese state media reported that he met Premier Li Qiang (李強) in Beijing, during which Li told Musk that Tesla's development in China could be regarded as a successful example of US-China economic and trade cooperation. Musk confirmed his meeting with the premier yesterday with a post on social media platform X. "Honored to meet with Premier Li
Dutch brewing company Heineken NV on Friday announced an investment of NT$13.5 billion (US$414.62 million) over the next five years in Taiwan. The first multinational brewing company to operate in Taiwan, Heineken made the statement at a ceremony held at its brewery in Pingtung County. It also outlined its efforts to make the brewery “net zero” by 2030. Heineken has been in the Taiwanese market for 20 years, Heineken Taiwan managing director Jeff Wu (吳建甫) said. With strong support from local consumers, the Dutch brewery decided to transition from sales to manufacturing in the country, Wu said. Heineken assumed majority ownership and management rights
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: The chipmaker last month raised its capital spending by 28 percent for this year to NT$32 billion from a previous estimate of NT$25 billion Contract chipmaker Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電子) yesterday launched a new 12-inch fab, tapping into advanced chip-on-wafer-on-substrate (CoWoS) packaging technology to support rising demand for artificial intelligence (AI) devices. Powerchip is to offer interposers, one of three parts in CoWoS packaging technology, with shipments scheduled for the second half of this year, Powerchip chairman Frank Huang (黃崇仁) told reporters on the sidelines of a fab inauguration ceremony in the Tongluo Science Park (銅鑼科學園區) in Miaoli County yesterday. “We are working with customers to supply CoWoS-related business, utilizing part of this new fab’s capacity,” Huang said, adding that Powerchip intended to bridge
Microsoft Corp yesterday said that it would create Thailand’s first data center region to boost cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, promising AI training to more than 100,000 people to develop tech. Bangkok is a key economic player in Southeast Asia, but it has lagged behind Indonesia and Singapore when it comes to the tech industry. Thailand has an “incredible opportunity to build a digital-first, AI-powered future,” Microsoft chairman and chief executive officer Satya Nadella said at an event in Bangkok. Data center regions are physical locations that store computing infrastructure, allowing secure and reliable access to cloud platforms. The global embrace of AI