"Why Taiwan Matters — From an Economic Perspective" is the Center for Strategic & International Studies' (CSIS) latest live event featuring Wang Mei-hua, minister of economic affairs for Taiwan.
Mei-hua on Oct. 11 discussed "the roles of Taiwan and the United States in creating trustworthy, resilient, and sustainable supply chains," according to the event page. The event was made possible through funding from the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO). Other featured speakers included John Hamre, the president and CEO of CSIS who holds the Langone Chair in American Leadership; and William Alan Reinsch, a senior advisor at Kelley, Drye, & Warren LLP who holds the Scholl Chair in International Business at CSIS.
Taiwan is located at the center of the first island chain of the western Pacific Ocean.
"Taiwan's pivotal location in the Indo-Pacific [region] serves several strategic purposes for regional powers, both offensive and defensive," Mei-hua said in the live session. "With that in mind, if Taiwan were to become under threat or be in crisis, it will not only have a severe impact on global shipping and logistics, but it would also have an impact on the political and economic order of the Indo-Pacific."
Taiwan holds a vital geostrategic position. It is a thriving hub for international trade, making it a critical global supply chain partner. Taiwan became the world's 16th-largest trading economy last year. Trade exceeded $800 billion (U.S.) for the first time in the country's history. Taiwan is a vital ally of the United States and their bilateral trade relations have continued to grow. Taiwan became the U.S.' largest trading partner in 2021.
Mei-hua's responsibilities include handling policies related to industrial and commercial development, international trade, foreign investment, energy, and other economic issues. Her focus now is on energy transition, industrial innovation and upgrading, and investment promotion.
She sees the Biden administration's relationship with Taiwan as vigorous so far.
"I think under the Biden administration, [the] Taiwan and United States relationship is even more robust and continue [sic] to grow because we have a lot of the dialogue," Mei-hua said. "And very important is concerning the supply chain cooperation. I mentioned Taiwan is a natural partner with the U.S., so there's a lot of room for dialogue to strengthen the supply chain cooperation."
Mei-hua said that ushering in a stronger relationship is important when asked about seeing additional economic-policy support from the U.S.
"We are quite appreciative of the United States' support for Taiwan in many areas that is very, very critical and important," she said.
In addition to speaking at the CSIS event, Mei-hua was scheduled to "meet with U.S. companies and chambers of commerce on ways to strengthen supply chain cooperation," Reuters reported.