Trade across the Taiwan Strait regained momentum in October, growing 0.7 percent after six consecutive months of decline, according to statistics released yesterday by the Board of Foreign Trade (BOFT).
The figures show that Taiwan shipped US$2.33 billion-worth of goods to China during the month, a decline of 0.8 percent from the same period last year, while importing US$604 million-worth of products from the other side of the strait -- an increase of 6.8 percent.
October's imports from China represented a record amount for a single month.
The BOFT said that Taiwan-China trade is warming up in light of the two countries' admittance to the WTO. China has already become a full member of the world trade regulatory body while Taiwan will join on Tuesday.
For the first 10 months of this year, cross-strait trade totaled US$24.57 billion, accounting for 12.7 percent of Taiwan's global trade and representing year-on-year growth of 1.5 percent. As a result, Taiwan registered a trade surplus with China of US$14.83 billion, a reduction of 10.6 percent.
The BOFT attributed the reduced trade surplus to Taiwan's increased imports from China, combined with reduced exports to China over the 10 months.
A breakdown of the statistics show that Taiwan's imports from China amounted to US$4.86 billion in the January-October period, representing 5.4 percent of the nation's overall imports, while its exports to China stood at US$19.7 billion, or 19.2 percent of its global exports.
Taiwan’s exports soared to an all-time high of US$61.8 billion last month, surging 49.7 percent from a year earlier, as the global frenzy for artificial intelligence (AI) applications and new consumer electronics powered shipments of high-tech goods, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. It was the first time exports had exceeded the US$60 billion mark, fueled by the global boom in AI development that has significantly boosted Taiwanese companies across the international supply chain, Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) told a media briefing. “There is a consensus among major AI players that the upcycle is still in its early stage,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-Wong tomorrow, which it said would possibly make landfall near central Taiwan. As of 2am yesterday, Fung-Wong was about 1,760km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving west-northwest at 26kph. It is forecast to reach Luzon in the northern Philippines by tomorrow, the CWA said. After entering the South China Sea, Typhoon Fung-Wong is likely to turn northward toward Taiwan, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said, adding that it would likely make landfall near central Taiwan. The CWA expects to issue a land
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said yesterday that China using armed force against Taiwan could constitute a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, allowing the country to mobilize the Japanese armed forces under its security laws. Takaichi made the remarks during a parliamentary session yesterday while responding to a question about whether a "Taiwan contingency" involving a Chinese naval blockade would qualify as a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, according to a report by Japan’s Asahi Shimbun. "If warships are used and other armed actions are involved, I believe this could constitute a survival- threatening
RSS