At rare high-level discussions on Thursday, Taiwanese Economic Minister Wang Mei-hua assured a top European Union official that Taiwan would continue to be a trusted partner for the global chip sector and stabilize the supply chain, which Taipei characterized as a significant breakthrough.
Taiwan has been courted by the EU to develop facilities in the union. Under constant pressure from China, which claims the island as its own, Taiwan has been eager to demonstrate that it can be a good friend to other democracies.
A trusted partner of the semiconductor industry
The EU announced the European Chips Act in February, naming Taiwan, home to the world’s largest contract chipmaker TSMC and other key semiconductor businesses, as one of the “like-minded partners” with which Europe wants to collaborate.
The talks with Sabine Weyand, director-general for trade at the European Commission, focused on issues such as semiconductor cooperation, Wang’s ministry said in a statement.
Wang said that Taiwan would continue to be a trusted partner of the global semiconductor industry and assist in stabilizing supply chain resilience.
Taiwan has tried its best
The statement also said that Taiwan has “tried its best” to assist the EU and other partners in resolving a worldwide chip shortage.
The ministry also stated that previous Taiwan-EU meetings had been held at the deputy level but that this one had been elevated to the ministerial level, describing it as an essential breakthrough in Taiwan-EU ties.
The European Commission, which is in charge of EU trade policy, stated that the bilateral conversation had been boosted, claiming that it was in line with China’s “One China” policy and strategy to expand its influence in the Indo-Pacific territory.
The two sides discussed methods to improve research collaboration, according to the Commission, and will collaborate to monitor semiconductor supply chains to anticipate supply interruptions.
9 hours ago
