Yen Huai-shing (center), senior deputy executive director of the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research’s Taiwan WTO and RTA Center, participates via video from Taipei City, Jan. 31 in a roundtable seminar on Taiwan’s bid to join the CPTPP. (MOFA)
 

A roundtable seminar on Taiwan’s bid to participate in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership was staged Jan. 31 in Kuala Lumpur, spotlighting government support from its Southeast Asian like-minded partner, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
 
Co-hosted by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Malaysia and the local think tank, Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs, the event was attended by Malaysian academics, experts, officials and business representatives. Yen Huai-shing, senior deputy executive director of the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research’s Taiwan WTO and RTA Center, delivered remarks on the reciprocal benefits of Taiwan’s joining the organization, via video link.
 
According to Yen, Taiwan enterprises are looking for new investment markets and locations to establish production lines outside China in line with the so-called “China+1” strategy. She suggested that the Malaysian government take this opportunity to sign a bilateral trade agreement with Taiwan or support the country’s CPTPP engagement to reduce tariffs or non-tariff trade barriers, adding that such moves will also facilitate cooperation in the semiconductor industry and ensure supply chain stability.
 
The MOFA said that every CPTPP member is uniquely important as membership is decided by consensus. The government works to win support from member states by emphasizing that Taiwan has already met the high standards set by the CPTPP, and the country’s participation will help the organization’s further development and economic growth, the ministry added. (YCH-E)