The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said it would continue to promote Taiwan-US cooperation and exchanges for states, districts, corporations and civic groups.
Taiwan currently has mutual driver’s license recognition pacts with 37 US states, and in the past three years signed 44 memorandums of understanding with multiple states in the fields of education, economy, trade, agriculture, marine affairs and healthcare, it said.
The Indiana Economic Development Corp Taiwan Office established in September last year was the 24th office set up by a US state in Taiwan, displaying the deepening Taiwan-US relations at the state level, the ministry added.
Photo: Reuters
Taiwan is the US’ eighth-largest trading partner, it said.
The US is Taiwan’s top agricultural trade partner, accounting for about 37 percent of agricultural imports, and the US has an agricultural trade surplus of about US$3 billion with Taiwan, the ministry said.
The US is also Taiwan’s top choice for foreign direct investment, it said, adding that the nation’s direct investment in the US was US$14.12 billion last year, a record high.
With lively trade and investment relations, Taiwan and the US share an industrial complementary and mutually beneficial partnership, the ministry said.
Taiwan and the US are important partners that share common values, ideas, and the weal and woe of security, the ministry said, adding that US support for Taiwan has been a bipartisan consensus for many years.
The US Department of State has also issued three letters to US state governors and mayors stressing that Taiwan is an important partner of the US and encouraging them to expand their relationship with Taiwan in areas such as trade, education, investment and tourism.
It also encourages private entities to seek business opportunities driven by shared values and stable relations between Taiwan and the US, it said.
Of the three letters from the state department, one was issued by US President Donald Trump during his first term, while the other two were issued under former US president Joe Biden’s administration.
The ministry said it would continue to promote Taiwan-US cooperation, building on the foundation of mutual benefit.
Taiwan hopes to strengthen cooperation with the Trump administration, deepen partnerships with the US in all areas, and to work together for peace, stability and prosperity in the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region, it added.
Asked whether Trump’s second term would affect Taiwan’s exchanges with US states, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) yesterday said: “I do not believe it would.”
States in the US have a degree of autonomy and exchanges with local governments might even be a good place to develop diplomatic relations, he said.
Taiwan has already established relationships with many local governments in the US, but they can promote substantial exchanges further, Chen said.
Chen cited as an example initiatives such as encouraging short-term student exchange programs and holding “Taiwan Day” events in the US to help local governments build a stronger impression of Taiwan.
Foundation on East Asia Peace Studies CEO Tung Li-wen (董立文) said the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is strengthening its relations with US states, so if Taiwan can establish a deeper and more comprehensive relationship, then Taiwan-US relations would also become firmer and more consolidated, while countering the CCP’s infiltration into US states.
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