Decoding News: Is the EU’s Economic and Technological Cooperation Excluding Taiwan?

Today’s Focus: Taiwan Emerges as a Champion in the AI Era; Is the EU Economic and Technological Cooperation Neglecting Taiwan? What is the Cooperation Roadmap Between Taiwan and the EU? Global Alert on China’s Economic Aggression; Has the US and China Entered into Long-term, Comprehensive Strategic Competition? Taiwan’s Resilient Model “Star Absorption Method”.

Decoding the News Guest of this episode: Lee Chun, Former ROC Ambassador to the EU, Deputy Researcher at the Institute of Chinese Economics; Host: Zhang Dongxu.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) celebrated its 30th anniversary this year, and since China’s accession in 2001, there has been a significant shift in dynamics, with China obstructing countries from signing economic and trade agreements with Taiwan, isolating the island. Since 2017, the US has changed its 40-year-old policy towards China, leading to trade wars, the pandemic, equivalent tariffs, and supply chain reorganization. Amid the US-China competition, what lies ahead for Taiwan?

Will Taiwan lose its advantages by assisting the US in reindustrialization? What are the prospects of Taiwan’s presence in Europe?

Lee Chun, an international economic and trade expert, switched fields in February 2023 to become the Deputy Minister of Political Affairs at the ROC Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was appointed as the ROC Ambassador to the EU and Belgium in January 2024, and then returned to a think tank position in the summer. These two years have marked a crucial period for Taiwan’s international economic and trade relations and industrial layout.

Ambassador Lee, could you elaborate on your observations on Taiwan’s overall economic and trade diplomacy in recent years?

How has the EU’s policy towards China evolved in recent years?

The US, being the world’s largest market and a former industrial powerhouse, is currently driving reindustrialization and supply chain reorganization. The Trump administration released a national security strategy advocating “winning the future through the economy” in the Asia-Pacific region, combining the economic strength of allies amounting to $65 trillion to counter predatory economics and unfair trade, without naming explicitly but clearly directed towards China.

From an economic, trade, and technological standpoint, what are your observations on this national security strategy?

As someone who has researched international economic and trade issues for over a decade, how do you perceive the trend and prospects of US-China competition?

With the ongoing tariff negotiations between Taiwan and the US, considering the US national security strategy landscape, what role will Taiwan play?

In Europe, both the EU and individual European countries have their versions of Indo-Pacific strategies, wherein Taiwan is crucial in terms of strategic position, geopolitics, and technology. The European Parliament has passed numerous strategic reports enhancing the status of Taiwan-EU bilateral cooperation.

How do you view the changes in the EU’s policy towards China?

Regarding Taiwan’s technology outbound investments in the three major regions – the US, Japan, and Europe – the progress seems to be fastest in Japan, with the US having the most extensive blueprint. How does the situation look in Europe?

You attended the Taipei-Berlin Forum in early December, where you spoke about the prospects of Taiwan-EU trade cooperation. You emphasized the need for establishing a “institutionalized cooperation framework” due to the lack of any formal framework or roadmap. What feedback have you received from European friends?

How significant is this complementarity in the Indo-Pacific strategy in Europe?

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