January 18, 2024
No. 036
The European Parliament (EP) on January 17 passed by an overwhelming majority a resolution on the security and defense implications of China’s influence on critical infrastructure in the European Union (EU). The resolution expresses concern over China’s increasingly aggressive stance toward Taiwan and in the South China Sea. It also reiterates the EP’s long-standing support for the deepening of trade and investment cooperation between Taiwan and the EU. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) highly welcomes and sincerely appreciates the resolution.
The resolution points out that China’s overwhelming control of global rare earth supplies poses a huge risk to the European defense sector and economic security. Noting that the adoption of the European Chips Act will increase the EU’s ability to produce semiconductors, the resolution also calls on the European Commission and EU member states to bolster cooperation with like-minded partners so as to jointly create semiconductor and critical infrastructure supply chains in the EU. It notes that this will reduce the EU’s dependence on China and strengthen its open strategic autonomy. In addition, the resolution draws particular attention to Taiwan’s significant role in global supply chains and the international order and endorses the signing of a Taiwan-EU bilateral investment agreement and any arrangements mutually beneficial to bilateral trade and investment.
The resolution again underscores the consensus in the EP regarding the pivotal role that Taiwan plays in the international community, as well as the EP’s strong support for more robust Taiwan-EU economic and trade exchanges and cooperation. As a reliable partner to the EU, Taiwan will continue to promote collaboration across all domains, levels, and dimensions in order to build resilient global democratic supply chains. (E)