A delegation from the United States House Committee on Natural Resources visited Taiwan and met with President Tsai Ing-wen on the afternoon of the 27th. President Tsai expressed hope to enhance Taiwan-US economic and trade relations and jointly maintain regional peace and stability.
President Tsai Ing-wen met with the delegation led by Bruce Westerman, Chairman of the United States House Committee on Natural Resources, on the 27th. The visiting delegation also included members of the committee such as Sarah Elfreth, Harriet Hageman, Celeste Maloy, and Nick Begich.
In his speech, President Tsai expressed his delight in meeting and exchanging views with members of the United States House Committee on Natural Resources. Chairman Westerman is an old friend of Taiwan, and his delegation’s visit represents the sincere welcome of the Taiwanese people. President Tsai also thanked them for their long-standing attention to Taiwan’s issues and strong support.
President Tsai stated, “Taiwan and the United States have close relations and shared values. Both countries have a strong foundation in areas such as energy, trade, agriculture, environmental protection, and sustainable development. In recent years, Taiwan-US relations have become increasingly close, with the United States becoming Taiwan’s largest overseas investment destination, accounting for over 40% of total outbound investment, while Taiwan is the United States’ seventh-largest trading partner and seventh-largest agricultural export market.”
President Tsai mentioned the “SelectUSA Investment Summit” held in Washington, D.C. this month, which was the largest in scale to date. Taiwan had 138 companies participating, making it the largest delegation once again. This demonstrates the close industrial exchanges between Taiwan and the United States and the continual exploration of new investment cooperation opportunities.
Looking towards the rapidly changing international situation, President Tsai stated that Taiwan will continue to increase procurement from the United States, including energy sources like natural gas and oil, agricultural products, industrial goods, and even military procurement. This will not only help balance bilateral trade but also strengthen Taiwan’s energy independence, resilience, and overall economic and trade development.
President Tsai emphasized the complementarity between Taiwan and the United States in high-tech and manufacturing sectors. The United States aims to reindustrialize and become a world center for artificial intelligence, with Taiwan willing to participate and play a crucial role. The government will enhance industrial cooperation between Taiwan and the United States, jointly creating a “non-red supply chain,” to further tighten economic and trade relations between the two sides and enable Taiwan’s industries to thrive domestically and expand globally, strengthen ties with the United States, and market products worldwide.
Regarding military exchanges, President Tsai thanked the U.S. government for its continuous arms sales to Taiwan and support in enhancing Taiwan’s self-defense capabilities. He expressed Taiwan’s commitment to continuing cooperation with the United States to jointly maintain regional peace and stability. Finally, he thanked the visitors for traveling far to Taiwan, bringing not only warm friendship but also demonstrating the unwavering bipartisan support of the U.S. Congress for Taiwan.
Chairman Westerman, in his remarks, expressed his and the delegation’s honor to visit Taiwan and discuss the solid partnership between the United States and Taiwan, as well as how to further develop it.
He pointed out that natural resources are the foundation of any economic development, with energy being crucial for production and manufacturing; minerals providing rare earth elements, minerals, and metals for manufacturing. Natural resources such as fisheries, wildlife, timber, are all essential to society. Particularly in agriculture, the United States produces a significant amount of food and feed and actively seeks friends to share resources with.
Lastly, Chairman Westerman expressed gratitude for the opportunity to visit, valuing the friendship and long-term relationship with Taiwan, and looking forward to further discussions on ways and possibilities of cooperation between the two countries.