Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of China (Taiwan)Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of China (Taiwan)

Good morning!

It is a great pleasure to be here today to say a few words on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China (Taiwan).

Taiwan and Australia share a cordial, longstanding friendship and are continuing to cooperate in many fields. With regard to the bilateral economic relationship, last year, total trade between our two countries reached 13.3 billion US dollars. Australia is Taiwan’s 11th-largest trading partner and its largest source of coal and iron ore. Taiwan invested 316 million US dollars in Australia last year, while investment from Australia to Taiwan was 714 million dollars. These numbers suggest Taiwan and Australia have a high degree of economic complementarity.

Earlier this year, Taiwan and Australia joined forces to combat COVID-19 through a series of humanitarian efforts. The two sides have also collaborated on the exchange of raw materials used in manufacturing critical medical supplies, such as face masks and hand sanitizer to contain the spread of the pandemic. It is now a good time for Taiwan and Australia to move on to the next stage, proactively working together to revive our economies in the postpandemic era.

We believe that forging a mutually beneficial and sustainable economic relationship will benefit our peoples and contribute to a more sustainable, secure, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region. So we believe it is time to bolster cooperation in the following four areas:

First, COVID-19 has exposed the vulnerability of our supply chains, which are highly dependent on certain manufacturing bases and markets. In August, Simon Birmingham, Australia’s Minister of Trade, Tourism, and Investment, participated in a videoconference with his counterparts from Japan and India. They agreed to develop the Resilient Supply Chain Initiative (RSCI) in the Indo-Pacific region. The RSCI encourages like-minded partners in the region to promote a free, fair, and transparent trade and investment environment. To the same end, Taiwan is willing to cooperate with Australia on creating more diverse, more secure supply chains.

Taiwan is Australia’s sixth-largest merchandise export market and its 14th-largest trading partner. We are convinced that an Economic Cooperation Agreement (ECA) would significantly boost Australia’s agricultural and other exports to Taiwan, bringing substantial benefits to the people of both countries. I hope we can work on the feasibility study of the ECA together. The feasibility study would help pave the way for further bilateral collaboration under our shared pursuit of bilateral and regional prosperity.

For its part, Taiwan has promoted related endeavors since launching the New Southbound Policy in 2016. Under this policy, in February we signed the Australia-Taiwan Organic Equivalency Arrangement to foster trade in agricultural products.

Taiwan is looking forward to enhancing bilateral economic and trade cooperation, talent exchanges, and resouce sharing, while strengthening multilateral economic ties with like-minded countries in the region. Through a joint effort between Taiwan and Australia, we can transform a prosperous Indo-Pacific region into a driving force for global economic recovery.

Taiwan is a staunch advocate of regional economic integration. We believe that extending Taiwan membership in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) is a way to echo the RSCI and deepen regional cooperation. By adhering to the CPTPP, Taiwan could better contribute to the region’s industrial development in fields such as biotech and medical care, e-commerce, telecommunications, and renewable energy. We therefore call for the support of the Australian government and private sector for Taiwan’s inclusion in the CPTPP.

Ladies and gentlemen, we are here today to build a network of friendship with a vision. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will continue to support the efforts of the CIECA to reinforce economic ties between Taiwan and Australia through collaboration with investors and corporations.

In closing, I wish this event great success. Thank you again for attending, and I wish you all the best of health. Thank you!