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.
Real estate agent and property developer JSL Construction & Development Co (愛山林) led the average compensation rankings among companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) last year, while contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) finished 14th. JSL Construction paid its employees total average compensation of NT$4.78 million (US$159,701), down 13.5 percent from a year earlier, but still ahead of the most profitable listed tech giants, including TSMC, TWSE data showed. Last year, the average compensation (which includes salary, overtime, bonuses and allowances) paid by TSMC rose 21.6 percent to reach about NT$3.33 million, lifting its ranking by 10 notches
Popular vape brands such as Geek Bar might get more expensive in the US — if you can find them at all. Shipments of vapes from China to the US ground to a near halt last month from a year ago, official data showed, hit by US President Donald Trump’s tariffs and a crackdown on unauthorized e-cigarettes in the world’s biggest market for smoking alternatives. That includes Geek Bar, a brand of flavored vapes that is not authorized to sell in the US, but which had been widely available due to porous import controls. One retailer, who asked not to be named, because
SEASONAL WEAKNESS: The combined revenue of the top 10 foundries fell 5.4%, but rush orders and China’s subsidies partially offset slowing demand Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) further solidified its dominance in the global wafer foundry business in the first quarter of this year, remaining far ahead of its closest rival, Samsung Electronics Co, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. TSMC posted US$25.52 billion in sales in the January-to-March period, down 5 percent from the previous quarter, but its market share rose from 67.1 percent the previous quarter to 67.6 percent, TrendForce said in a report. While smartphone-related wafer shipments declined in the first quarter due to seasonal factors, solid demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) devices and urgent TV-related orders
MINERAL DIPLOMACY: The Chinese commerce ministry said it approved applications for the export of rare earths in a move that could help ease US-China trade tensions Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰) is today to meet a US delegation for talks in the UK, Beijing announced on Saturday amid a fragile truce in the trade dispute between the two powers. He is to visit the UK from yesterday to Friday at the invitation of the British government, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. He and US representatives are to cochair the first meeting of the US-China economic and trade consultation mechanism, it said. US President Donald Trump on Friday announced that a new round of trade talks with China would start in London beginning today,
RSS