The economy will continue on the positive course launched last year by the return of investors evading United States tariffs against China, but the government will have to do more to join international trade blocs in order to avert marginalization, business leaders said Wednesday (Jan. 1).
U.S. President Donald Trump’s measures targeting Chinese imports and the Taiwanese government’s policies attracted more Taiwanese businesses to leave China or at least make new investment plans for the island in order to avoid the tariffs over the past year.
Looking at 2020, business leaders expected the trend to continue and fuel Taiwan’s economic growth. They also called for help for small and medium enterprises to upgrade and progress as the age of 5G and AI was approaching rapidly, CNA reported.
However, Chinese National Association of Industry and Commerce, Taiwan (CNAIC) Chairman Lin Por-fong (林伯豐) noted that as a major exporter, Taiwan should also be actively seeking to join new trade partnerships, such as the CPTPP (Comprehensive and Progressive Trans Pacific Partnership) and the RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership), or it could face being marginalized.
Other business leaders also suggested Taiwan should seize the opportunity offered by the recent months of unrest in Hong Kong by seeking to establish itself as a regional financial center, according to the CNA report.
Source：Taiwan News
