Tien, Chung-kwang
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs
Republic of China (Taiwan)
April 25, 2023
(As Delivered)
Good morning!
On behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it is a pleasure to witness the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on Economic and Trade Cooperation between Taiwan and Virginia. Taiwan is Virginia’s 10th-largest source of imports and ninth-largest export market. This MOU is a testament to our staunch commitment to furthering economic and trade ties. I am confident that it will create even more opportunities for both sides to promote bilateral investment.
Taiwan and the United States have long enjoyed robust economic and trade relations. And over the past six years, two-way trade has increased almost 85 percent. In 2022, trade reached new highs, totaling 120 billion US dollars and making Taiwan the eighth-largest trading partner of the United States. Taiwanese businesses invested 1 billion US dollars in the United States last year, which was an increase of 128 percent over the previous year. Next week, Taiwan will send one of the largest delegations to the SelectUSA Investment Summit, highlighting our strong bilateral cooperation and robust partnership.
I am pleased to share that since the Taiwan-US Initiative on 21st-Century Trade launched last year, both sides have conducted two rounds of negotiations. As President Tsai Ing-wen stated at the annual banquet of the American Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan last week, Taiwan is keen to explore a free trade agreement with the United States. Such an agreement would also help expand our collaboration with Virginian companies and enhance business opportunities.
Taiwan is an important partner to both the United States and the great state of Virginia. With the signing of today’s MOU and with the Virginia trade office soon to be opened in Taiwan, I am confident that bilateral commercial links between Taiwan and Virginia will only continue to grow and flourish.
Thank you all for joining us at this meaningful event!