Total trade with Germany last year surpassed US$20 billion for the first time, the German Trade Office Taipei said.
The figure rose to a record US$20.7 billion, up 27.5 percent from US$16.2 billion in 2020, the office said in a statement.
“German-Taiwanese trade relations developed overwhelmingly positively in 2021, defying the [COVID-19] pandemic,” office Executive Director Axel Limberg said in a statement.
Germany last year retained its position as Taiwan’s most important trade partner in Europe, Limberg said.
It is particularly gratifying that imports and exports between Germany and Taiwan rose significantly, indicating that bilateral economic relations are mutually beneficial, he said.
Taiwan’s exports to Germany were US$8.2 billion last year, up 35.4 percent year-on-year, while imports accounted for US$12.5 billion, up 22.8 percent from a year earlier, according to Ministry of Finance data cited by the German Trade Office.
Exports of machinery and electrical equipment totaled US$4.2 billion last year, accounting for about half of all exports, with electronic parts, and information, communication and audio-video products among the most popular items, the data showed.
Machinery and electrical equipment were the top imports from Germany, worth almost US$4.9 billion, with machinery accounting for the biggest share with about 46 percent, the office said.
While overall approved foreign direct investment in Taiwan fell by 18.2 percent last year, German investment increased by 67.3 percent year-on-year to US$252.6 million, the office said, citing Ministry of Economic Affairs data.
Limberg said that technologies from both sides perfectly complement each other, and further expansion in international cooperation would be crucial to shaping key technologies such as Industry 4.0, artificial intelligence and biotechnology.
The office said that it would host an economic outlook meeting with the Ministry of Economic Affairs and major German companies in Taiwan on Feb. 22, during which they would assess “the current state of the German economy in Taiwan” and discuss the future of the Taiwanese economy, as well as key industries.
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