The idea of Taiwan and China jointly developing brands as proposed by China’s top negotiator with Taiwan is feasible, Taiwanese academics said.
Taiwanese and Chinese entrepreneurs could set common standards and develop brand names to capitalize on their separate strengths in world markets, said Tu Tze-chen (杜紫宸), research head at the Industrial Technology Research Institute.
Taiwan has well-established research and development, and design capabilities for electronics goods, but they have been more oriented toward Western markets than China’s market, Tu said.
He said that if the two sides could develop common brands with the help of Taiwan’s research and development and manufacturing capabilities to compete in China, there would be nothing wrong with that for Taiwan.
Gordon Sun (孫明德), director of the macroeconomic forecasting center at the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research, said that “building bridges” across the Taiwan Strait has delivered little to date, but he believed that the co-branding idea could mitigate unnecessary competition.
The codevelopment of brands by Taiwan and China could also help change the traditional model of Taiwanese suppliers acting as contractors for major US brands, with most of the profits going to the branded vendor, he said.
With its export market on the decline, Taiwan should respond to China’s initiative and see what can be done to develop the concept, Sun said.
Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits Chairman Chen Deming (陳德銘) said during a recent trip to Taiwan that Chinese enterprises hoped to work with their Taiwanese counterparts in the areas of R&D, design, and international sales.
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