Taiwan maintained its ranking as the largest electronics product supplier to China last year, accounting for more than 27 percent of Beijing’s total electronics imports, data showed on Thursday.
Last year, Taiwan’s electronics shipments to China grew by an annual 37.6 percent to US$83.79 billion, Ministry of Economic Affairs data showed.
Last year’s figure made up 27.3 percent of China’s total electronics imports, up from 23 percent in 2012 amid warming business ties across the Taiwan Strait.
South Korea was in second place, with US$57.48 billion worth of electronics shipments to China last year, which represented an 18 percent annual increase and 18.7 percent of China’s total electronics imports.
The ministry said South Korea has become a major competitor in terms of electronics shipments to China, with its market share rising from 15.2 percent in 2008 to 18.7 percent last year.
Taiwan’s market share grew from 20 percent to 27.3 percent over that period, the ministry said.
The six major member states of ASEAN — Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam — together served as the third-largest electronics suppliers to China last year, with a 4.8 annual increase in shipments to US$57.35 billion, its data showed.
The ministry said semiconductors, LED and solar energy products and printed circuit boards were the nation’s three major categories of electronics exports to China last year, accounting for 96.5 percent of Taiwan’s total electronics sales to China.
Semiconductors represented 86.1 percent of Taiwan’s electronics exports to China last year, rising by an annual 44.1 percent to US$72.17 billion, the ministry said, adding that Taiwan held a 31.1 percent share of China’s total semiconductor imports, remaining the largest integrated circuit supplier last year, ahead of South Korea with a 20.5 percent share.
South Korea’s chip exports to China rose 20.6 percent year-on-year last year, indicating that it is becoming a growing threat to Taiwan’s semiconductor industry, the ministry said.
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