Minister of Economic Affairs Yiin Chii-ming (尹啟銘) said yesterday that some form of economic framework with China was inevitable to avoid being marginalized.
Without such a framework, industries such as textiles, petrochemicals and heavy machinery would relocate overseas, creating massive unemployment and creating gaps in critical supply chains, Yiin said at the first of 22 public hearings on the government’s plan to sign an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) with China.
“The public misunderstands the Ministry of Economic Affairs and thinks that we’re pro-China. The reality is our biggest trading partner has always been the US, and we know it,” Yiin said.
He said a study conducted by the IMF showed that the Taiwanese and the US’ “economic elasticity was 1.2, which means if the US economy were to rise by 1 percent, our economy would rise by 1.2 percent, and vice versa.”
Yiin told the more than 250 businesspeople attending yesterday’s meeting that an ECFA with China was urgently needed or Taiwan might be left out of any favorable trade agreement with ASEAN and the rest of the world.
Over the past decade, members of the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA), South Korea, Hong Kong, Macau, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Japan and even India had all signed agreements with China, he said.
Taiwan has not been able to join AFTA. Although it has tried to sign free-trade agreements with countries such as the US, Japan, Singapore and South Korea, its efforts have failed because of pressure from China.
“ECFA is simply a term that is still awaiting approval by the Chinese. Taiwan cannot sign a Closer Economic Partnership Agreement with China because that is a one- country agreement between the mainland and Hong Kong,” he said.
“We cannot sign a free-trade agreement because it would mean allowing a free flow of goods and services between two countries, and Taiwan is not ready at this point,” Yiin said.
Taipei and Beijing are still evaluating the pros and cons of proceeding with such a long-term arrangement and have not even begun direct dialogue yet, he said.
Yiin promised that signing an ECFA would not mean sacrificing Taiwan’s sovereignty because the issue would not even be part of the ECFA discussions.
Chinese agricultural products and workers will not be part of the trade talks, he said.
Representatives of the leather association, shoe association,and the confectionery, biscuit and floury food association voiced concern that the government might balk during trade talks with China instead of protecting their interests, media reports said yesterday.
Taiwan Footwear Manufacturers Association (台灣製鞋品發展協會) chairman Chiao Chien-ho (趙建和) said his group hoped the government would drop the ECFA idea because the pact would damage the industry.
The groups said they wanted written guarantees from the government to protect their industries.
Huawei Technologies Co’s (華為) latest smartphones carry a version of the advanced made-in-China processor it revealed last year, results from an independent analysis showed. This underscored the Chinese company’s ability to sustain production of the controversial chip. The Pura 70 series unveiled last week sports the Kirin 9010 processor, research firm TechInsights found during a teardown of the device. This is a newer version of the Kirin 9000s, made by Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC, 中芯) for the Mate 60 Pro, which had alarmed officials in Washington who thought a 7-nanometer chip was beyond China’s capabilities. Huawei has enjoyed a resurgence since
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
GROWTH DRIVERS: The firm expects to benefit from generative AI applications for smartphones, higher average selling price of flagship chips and market share gains Smartphone chip designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科) yesterday said it estimates that revenue would expand at an annual rate of about 15 percent this year, as a proliferation of generative artificial intelligence (AI) applications for premium smartphones are fueling demand for its flagship smartphone chips. It expects its smartphone chip revenue to outgrow the company’s average growth rate this year, benefiting primarily from the higher average selling price of its flagship smartphone chips and market share gains. The flagship chip revenue is to soar 50 percent year-on-year this year, MediaTek told an investor conference yesterday. As a whole, this year’s gross margin is