The American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei (AmCham) urged the government yesterday to improve relations with China.
The largest foreign trade association in Taiwan made the call on the eve of the opening of a much-anticipated national economic development conference aimed at revitalizing Taiwan's faltering economy.
Both incumbent AmCham President Richard Henson and his predecessor, Paul Cassingham, said they have high expectations for the Economic Development Advisory Conference (
Henson said Taiwan should take advantage of the conference to craft innovative measures to break the lingering cross-strait limbo to revive public confidence in Taiwan's economic prospects.
Henson said that in his opinion Taiwan is now at a critical juncture and needs wisdom and vision to cope with the challenges it faces.
Saying that Taiwan's present economic woes lie partly in a lack of public confidence, Henson said he is convinced that boosting cross-strait trade and economic relations would help enhance consumer and investor confidence.
In particular, Henson said, if the two sides of the Taiwan Strait can open direct trade, mail and transportation links, it would have a positive impact on Taiwan's economic development.
For his part, Cassingham said Taiwan should define its own role under the current wave of economic globalization. As both Taiwan and China will soon be admitted into the WTO, Taipei should formulate new development strategies.
Henson said that Taiwan should allow its low-end manufacturing and assembling industries to relocate to China and focus its energy on developing its resourcing, management and designing services as well as boosting research and development.
Henson said Taiwan should cash in on its strategic geographic location, management expertise and international trade experience to sustain its economic growth.
As the people of Taiwan have forged a consensus on economic and political reforms, Henson said the government should redouble its efforts to push for transparency and globalization in its financial and banking sector to attract foreign investors and sharpen its competitive edge in the global market.
The local financial sector has recently come under fire on a number of fronts, namely because of an excessive rate of bad and non-performing loans at small regional credit cooperatives. The central government is now investigating the festering problem.
It's also been said that the domestic banking sector has too many financial institutions, most of which lack international competitiveness. This will be a drawback when Taiwan enters the WTO.
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