Taiwanese and US companies signed seven memorandums of understanding (MOUs) at a high-level trade meeting in Washington to enhance cooperation in fields such as renewable energy and 5G communications, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said on Thursday.
The MOUs inked during the first physical meeting under the Technology Trade and Investment Collaboration (TTIC) framework could help both countries enhance cooperation and stabilize global supply chains, said Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花), head of the Taiwanese delegation.
Participating Taiwanese companies included state-run Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電), Aerospace Industrial Development Corp (AIDC, 漢翔航空), Quanta Cloud Technology (雲達科技), HTC Corp (宏達電), TMY Technology Inc (稜研科技) and Edgecore Networks Corp (鈺登), the ministry said.
Photo: CNA
On the US side, representatives from General Electric Co (GE), Intel Corp, RingCentral Inc, Lumen Technologies and DuPont were present.
One of the MOUs involves GE helping AIDC use hydrogen-based power-generation technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and develop its own maintenance capabilities on a turbine-supported electrification project, the ministry said.
GE is also to work with Taipower to achieve its goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050, the ministry said.
The MOUs also cover information and communications technology cooperation in areas such as smart manufacturing, entertainment, healthcare and 5G connectivity, it said.
Besides attending the TTIC meeting, the first since the body was established in December last year for Taiwan and the US to develop commercial programs and bolster critical technology supply chains, Wang said her trip, which runs from Oct. 9 to tomorrow, has also facilitated exchanges between about 80 Taiwanese and US firms.
Wang said the exchanges had generated a positive response, and she believed there would be more TTIC meetings next year, although the date and location were still to be decided.
Wang was to visit companies in Silicon Valley, including Applied Materials Inc, after wrapping up her visit in Washington yesterday.
She expressed hopes that her visit could generate orders and potential investments of up to NT$30 billion (US$940.91 million).
Wang reiterated Taiwan’s critical role in the global semiconductor industry, supported by a solid industry cluster, high-quality talent and a sound legal framework for semiconductor intellectual property protection.
Any disruption to the semiconductor industry in Taiwan could have a severe impact on the global tech industry and world economy, she said, calling for stable relations between Taiwan and China.
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