Foreign investment in the first quarter increased 40 percent and local procurement by foreign companies surged 109 percent year-on-year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
The ministry, in cooperation with economic agencies, through its more than 100 overseas offices helped attract foreign investment totaling US$350 million in the first three months of the year, compared with US$250 million in the same period last year, it said.
Local procurement by foreign companies totaled US$230 million in the first quarter, up from US$110 million a year earlier, it added.
Trade with the nations targeted by the government’s New Southbound Policy increased 5 percent year-on-year from US$26.09 billion to US$27.37 billion, the ministry said.
The policy was launched by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in 2016 to enhance exchanges with the 10 ASEAN members, as well as Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, New Zealand and Australia.
The ministry’s overseas offices promoted economic and trade relations with the policy’s target nations, it said, and their efforts helped Taiwanese companies win the bids for five projects worth about US$1.65 million.
The ministry has also set up demonstration farms in Indonesia and Vietnam, as well as a model mushroom farm in the northern Philippines, it said.
To strengthen bilateral economic relations, the ministry helped facilitate the passage of 16 Taiwan-friendly resolutions and laws in the US, including the Taiwan Allies International Protection and Enhancement Initiative Act, which encourages the US trade representative to improve trade and economic relations with Taiwan, it said.
It also facilitated the signing of 12 economic agreements or memorandums of understanding with several other nations, such as an agreement on mutual recognition of organic products between Taiwan and New Zealand, as well as the Taiwan-Australia Organic Equivalency Arrangement, it added.
The ministry used information and communication technology, biomedical technology and green energy as the major pillars to improve Taiwan’s international cooperation with regards to the COVID-19 pandemic, it said.
“The ministry will continue to collaborate with related government agencies in watching international trends in economic and trade developments, to export the Taiwan experience and explore more potential opportunities for Taiwan’s industries,” the statement said.
UNDER WATCH: Taiwan will have to establish a standardized nucleic acid testing method to identify the virus and monitor its spread, the CDC said The Langya henipavirus, which can be transmitted from animals to humans, has been discovered in China, with 35 human infections reported so far, Taiwan’s Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said, adding that the nation would establish a nucleic acid testing method to identify the virus. A study titled “A Zoonotic Henipavirus in Febrile Patients in China” that was published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Thursday said that a new henipavirus associated with a fever-causing human illness was identified in China. The study said an investigation identified 35 patients with acute infection of the Langya henipavirus in China’s Shandong
MISSILE PATHS: Certain information on the Chinese missile fire was not disclosed to maintain secrecy over military intelligence-gathering capabilities, the MND said Military experts yesterday speculated on the implication of the government’s tight-lipped response and the lack of air-raid sirens during the first day of China’s military drills the previous day. On Thursday, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) launched 11 Dongfeng-series ballistic missiles into waters north, east and south of Taiwan, a day after US House of Representative Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s departure from the country, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said. The Japanese Ministry of Defense said that China fired nine missiles toward Taiwan, including four that flew over Taiwan proper. However, China’s exhibition of force failed to terrorize the local populace, because
If any war were to break out between the US and China, one trigger might be the increasingly frequent fighter jet encounters near Taiwan. Almost every day, Taiwanese fighter pilots hop in their US-made F-16s to intercept Chinese warplanes screaming past their territory. The encounters probe the nation’s defenses and force the pilots on both sides to avoid mistakes that could lead to a crisis that spins out of control. “I didn’t know whether they would fire at me,” said retired colonel Mountain Wang, recounting a tense five-minute confrontation he had with Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) jets more than a decade
INCREASINGLY EMBOLDENED: China can no longer be dismissed as inexperienced, demonstrating an ability to coordinate land and sea missile systems, an expert said Beijing’s largest-ever exercises around Taiwan have offered essential clues into its plans for a grueling blockade in the event of an attack on Taiwan, and revealed an increasingly emboldened Chinese military, experts said. The visit to Taiwan by US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi — second in line to the presidency — sparked outrage from Beijing, which launched vast military maneuvers around the nation, even at the risk of partially exposing its plans to the US and its Asian allies. Mobilizing fighter planes, helicopters and warships, the drills aim to simulate a blockade of Taiwan and include practicing an “attack on
RSS