A two-day annual meeting on fostering cooperation between Taiwan and China in the communications industry is to begin in Greater Taichung on Tuesday, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Woody Duh (杜紫軍) will preside over the meeting, which aims to facilitate the development of communications industries on either side of the Taiwan Strait to enable them to seize the opportunities arising in the growing global market.
Participants from Taiwan and China will discuss 4G mobile broadband networks development, “smart” cities and online payment systems.
Analysts say investors are particularly interested in seeing how Taiwan and China will work with each other in the 4G services sector, since both sides are planning to issue 4G licenses in the near future.
The ministry said Chinese Deputy Minister of Industrial and Information Technology Liu Lihua (劉利華) will lead China’s delegation at the conference.
It will be the first time that Liu heads a Chinese delegation at a high-level cross-strait event.
The 60-member delegation is slated to arrive in Taiwan today and will include representatives from the Chinese Ministry of Industrial and Information Technology, as well as from three major telecom operators: China Telecom, China Mobile and China Unicom.
Executives from communications device manufacturers in China, such as ZTE Corp, Huawei Technologies Co and Datang Telecom Technology Co, will also be present.
“The summit will be the biggest event of the year in terms of exchanges between the high-tech industries from the two sides of the Taiwan Strait,” a statement issued by the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) said.
The ministry said representatives from Taiwan’s five major telecom operators — Chunghwa Telecom, Far EasTone Telecommunications, Taiwan Mobile, Asia Pacific Telecom and Vibo Telecom — will be among the Taiwanese delegates.
In addition, representatives from local communications products manufacturers will also attend the meeting, including some ftrom smartphone vendor HTC Corp, integrated circuit designer MediaTek Inc, Internet communications device supplier ZyXEL Communications Corp, wireless broadband product maker Gemtek Technology Co and communications equipment producer Accton Technology Corp.
Altogether, about 300 government officials, business leaders and industrial professionals from both countries are expected to participate in the annual conference, the ministry added.
TAITRA has said that it expects purchases by the Chinese delegation this year to surpass the US$220 million made by last year’s group of representatives, which was led by Chinese Deputy Minister Of Industry and Information Technology Yang Xueshan (楊學山).
This year, the Chinese buyers will likely purchase products ranging from automobile parts and components, to industrial automation resolutions, panels and IT software and hardware, TAITRA said.
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