Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Malaysia, in collaboration with Institute of Strategic and International Studies Malaysia (ISIS Malaysia) and Taiwan’s CTPECC, held a webinar on “Exploring Avenues for Growth for Malaysia and Taiwan Post Pandemic: Strengthening Regional Cooperation” on 5 May. The discussions covered the emerging fields in sustainable low-carbon growth, digital health trends and digital economy.
TECO Representative Anne Hung pointed out in her opening remarks that it is more important than ever that countries in the region should work together to pursue economic revitalization in the post pandemic era. She stressed that both Taiwan and Malaysia are trade-oriented economies that are open to and supportive of regional economic integration. Taiwan has expressed strong interest in joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and is ready to enter the second round of negotiation to become a new member. Taiwan has close trade and investment relations with members of the CPTPP. While 30% of Taiwan’s imports come from its member, 20% of Taiwan’s exports also go to the members. 30% of Taiwan’s total FDI from CPTPP members, while more than half of its investment (54%) went to the members. Taiwan and Malaysia share multiple economic and commercial interests. Over the past decades, Taiwan has been Malaysia’s major trading partner. Last year, for instance, Taiwan is the fifth largest trading partner of Malaysia. The accumulated investment amount reached $13.81 billion up to day. A recent research report indicated that, given Taiwan’s niche participation in global high-tech industries and long-term trade and investment relationships with Malaysia, if Taiwan joins CPTPP, the potential benefits to Malaysia would increase substantially. Therefore, Taiwan hopes Malaysia will support Taiwan’s bid especially after it ratifies CPTPP .
The three speakers at the webinar include Professor Wen-Chen Shih, National Chengchi University, Ms. Melody Chen, Taiwan Institute of Economic Research, and Dr. Juita Mohamad, ISIS Malaysia. The topics of their presentation are as follows: “The Implication of Participating in CPTPP for Taiwan’s sustainable low-carbon growth”, “The development of Digital Health in APEC”, “Digitalization and the Digital Economy in Malaysia”.