Canadian senators have stressed Taiwan’s importance for international trade and expressed enthusiasm for ensuring the Taiwan-Canada trade cooperation framework agreement is implemented this year.
Representative to Canada Harry Tseng (曾厚仁) in an interview with the Central News Agency (CNA) said he was increasingly uneasy about Ottawa’s delays in signing the agreement, especially as Ottawa has warmed toward Beijing.
There are “no negotiations left. Not only [is it] initialed, we have three versions of the text ready: English, French and Mandarin,” Tseng said. “That tells you how close we are to the final signature.”
Photo: Reuters
Tseng said that he hoped Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney would not delay the signing of the agreement to preserve Canada’s relationship with Beijing, adding that not signing the agreement would not only harm Taiwan’s interests, but also undermine Canada’s.
The framework covers collaboration across digital trade, energy transition, supply chain resilience and, semiconductors.
Carney told Canadian Broadcasting Corp that his government is capable of conducting trade with both Taiwan and China.
“We have trade relations with Taiwan, but we’re focusing on strengthening our trade relations with China. We’re making a lot of progress. For families in the automotive and clean energy sectors, it’s been a great success,” Carney said.
Paramvir Bains of the Liberal Party told CNA that Canada is actively pursuing diversification of its trade, adding that Canada-Taiwan trade ties have been close for many years, and that Canada’s decision to improve trade ties with Beijing did not conflict with its willingness to do business with Taiwan.
Taiwan is Canada’s sixth-largest trade partner in Asia, and its semiconductor industry enjoys global renown, he said, adding that Emtar Technologies, from his own constituency, Richmond, has close ties with Taiwan.
Wade Chang, also of the Liberal Party, said that while Ottawa must, politically and diplomatically, observe the “one China” policy, this does not prevent economic and civil interactions between Canada and Taiwan.
Tako van Popta of the Conservative Party said it would be inappropriate for the Carney administration to delay signing the agreement with Taiwan because of China, adding that he would do everything in his power to promote the issue, as “Taiwan is a like-minded partner of Canada, and both sides mutually benefit from industrial collaborations. The trade framework would be beneficial to both of us.”
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