China is seeking new cooperative ventures with Taiwanese manufacturers to seize new business opportunities in the fields of smart devices and cloud computing as well as develop its own technologies and supply chain, a Chinese official said yesterday.
Discussing the paradigm shift from PCs to smart devices in the communications industry, Chinese Deputy Minister of Industry and Information Technology Xi Guohua (奚國華) said: “This change will pose a challenge for China ... The two sides [Taiwan and China] should collaborate to form smart devices [supply chain] including microprocessors, allowing us to benefit from this change.”
“Taiwan and China complement each other,” with China’s huge domestic market and Taiwan is good at expert manufacturing, Xi told a forum arranged by the Sinocon Industrial Standards Foundation (華 聚產業共同標準推動基金會) in Taipei.
The fact that Apple Inc enjoys a higher profit margin than Microsoft Corp reflects this trend, as Apple’s iPhone and iPad have altered the way people use handheld devices, Xi added.
The emergence of cloud computing technology would accelerate this industry shift, with shipments of smart devices expected to exceed laptop computer shipments soon, Xi said, adding that cloud computing technology could be another key area of collaboration between Taiwan and China. He did not provide any further details.
As the urbanization of rural areas was one of the key programs in China’s new five-year economic development plan, Xi said that could prove a boon for Taiwanese manufacturers.
This program also intends to expand the spread of broadband links to the Internet and boost connectivity in remote rural villages, following the almost universal adoption of telephones and electricity in targeted areas, Xi said.
“We will need a lot of networking equipment for infrastructure deployment and a lot of portable devices such as smartphones,” Xi told reporters.
No specific procurement deals had yet been finalized, he said.
Yesterday, Taiwan inked three new memorandums of understandings with China to push for the formation of common technology standards in the LCD, LED lighting and solar sectors, paving the way for Taiwanese companies to establish a larger presence in the Chinese market.
“Common technological standards will provide a basis for companies to sell new products to the market,” Xi said.
On Monday, Xi is scheduled to visit Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), which makes iPhones and iPads, local solar cell maker Neo Solar Power Corp (新日光), laptop maker Asustek Computer Inc (華碩電腦) and Delta Electronics (台達電) as well as other local firms, Sinocon foundation said.
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