China attempted to clean up its image regarding tainted goods at the APEC meeting in Sydney yesterday, with Chinese President Hu Jintao (
Hu was replying to a question during a press conference following a bilateral meeting with Australian Prime Minister John Howard.
"We implement strict inspection procedures to ensure product quality and food safety," Hu said. "From 2004 to the first half of this year, 99 percent of Chinese exports to the US, EU and Japan were up to standard."
Product safety became a serious issue after goods manufactured in China were recently found to contain dangerous toxins.
The safety scare issue was also discussed during a bilateral meeting between US President George W. Bush and Hu.
On Wednesday, US toy giant Mattel Inc announced its third recall this year of toys from Chinese manufacturers that were found to contain lead paint.
Ministers from 21 APEC members also agreed yesterday to set up a food safety taskforce chaired by Australia and China to ensure the health and safety of people in the region. During a press conference following the ministerial meeting, Australian Trade Minister Warren Truss said the action was not targeting Chinese food and products.
"We expect all goods to be safe here," Truss said.
The taskforce, however, has no specific commitment of funds so far, he said.
Taiwan is aware of a series of defective Chinese products that caused panic in many countries and will strengthen inspection of Chinese imports through the Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection, Minister of Economic Affairs Steve Chen (陳瑞隆) said.
Also yesterday, ministers endorsed stalled trade talks as their nations' best hopes of sustained economic growth, said a joint statement calling on the 21 leaders to back a successful conclusion to the Doha round of WTO negotiations on trade liberalization.
The statement also recognized the importance of further development in digital capability of APEC member economies, citing a Taiwan-initiated APEC Digital Opportunity Center (ADOC) project.
"We welcomed the contribution made by the APEC Digital Opportunity Center in this regard and encouraged member economies to further cooperate in relevant capacity building activities," the statement said.
Taiwan proposed the ADOC project in 2003 to help narrow the digital divide between member economies.
Acer founder Stan Shih (施振榮), representing Taiwan at the APEC Summit on behalf of President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), said earlier this week that he would promote a newer ADOC 2.0 project to member countries later this year.
Meanwhile, Gary Lin (
As Taiwan has no formal diplomatic ties with Australia, the aircraft will not bear the national flag on the tail, he said.
Shih's airplane will make two stops, the second in Brisbane, for refueling, Lin said.
He would not reveal where the first stop would take place, citing fear of pressure from China.
Shih would receive the same treatment as other leaders attending the APEC meeting, Lin said.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday said its materials management head, Vanessa Lee (李文如), had tendered her resignation for personal reasons. The personnel adjustment takes effect tomorrow, TSMC said in a statement. The latest development came one month after Lee reportedly took leave from the middle of last month. Cliff Hou (侯永清), senior vice president and deputy cochief operating officer, is to concurrently take on the role of head of the materials management division, which has been under his supervision, TSMC said. Lee, who joined TSMC in 2022, was appointed senior director of materials management and
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Thursday met with US President Donald Trump at the White House, days before a planned trip to China by the head of the world’s most valuable chipmaker, people familiar with the matter said. Details of what the two men discussed were not immediately available, and the people familiar with the meeting declined to elaborate on the agenda. Spokespeople for the White House had no immediate comment. Nvidia declined to comment. Nvidia’s CEO has been vocal about the need for US companies to access the world’s largest semiconductor market and is a frequent visitor to China.
Hypermarket chain Carrefour Taiwan and upscale supermarket chain Mia C’bon on Saturday announced the suspension of their partnership with Jkopay Co (街口支付), one of Taiwan’s largest digital payment providers, amid a lawsuit involving its parent company. Carrefour and Mia C’bon said they would notify customers once Jkopay services are reinstated. The two retailers joined an array of other firms in suspending their partnerships with Jkopay. On Friday night, popular beverage chain TP Tea (茶湯會) also suspended its use of the platform, urging customers to opt for alternative payment methods. Another drinks brand, Guiji (龜記), on Friday said that it is up to individual
STABLE RESULTS: Despite June’s lower consolidated revenue, second-quarter sales still reached a record high, driven by demand for chips for AI applications Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday reported consolidated sales of NT$263.71 billion (US$9.02 billion) for last month, its second-lowest monthly result this year. The world’s largest contract chipmaker said in a statement that its revenue last month only fared better than the NT$260.01 billion posted in February. Last month’s figure rose 26.9 percent from a year earlier, but slumped 17.7 percent from May, the company said. However, second-quarter revenue reached NT$933.8 billion, a record high for a single quarter, company data showed. The figure represented growth of 11.26 percent from the first quarter and 38.6 percent from a year earlier. Previously, TSMC said that