Taiwan’s minister aims for stronger EU bonds in exchange for chip investment.

European Countries Urged to Strengthen Relations with Taiwan for Semiconductor Investment

By Philip Blenkinsop

During his recent visit to Europe, Foreign Minister Joseph Wu emphasized the need for European countries to enhance their ties with Taiwan in order to secure continued Taiwanese investment in semiconductor production.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, requires government approval for its overseas investments, including a potential factory in Germany.

Minister Wu clarified that the government does not impose conditions on TSMC’s investments and it is ultimately up to the company to determine the profitability of a project.

However, Wu highlighted a “philosophical issue” where countries seeking Taiwanese assistance should consider the broader relationship with Taiwan. He stated, “Even though we are not selfish in stopping TSMC from investing in other countries, we certainly hope that other countries who want to attract TSMC… can also think about the situation Taiwan is in.”

China claims sovereignty over Taiwan and has not ruled out the use of force to bring it under its control. Taiwan strongly opposes China’s claims and asserts that the island’s future should be decided by its people.

Wu expressed optimism that if European countries adopt a positive approach towards Taiwan, the relations between Taiwan and major European countries will significantly improve. However, due to the sensitivity of his trip, Wu did not disclose the specific country he visited. It is worth noting that Taiwan only maintains formal diplomatic ties with the Vatican and China had warned European countries against establishing official ties with Taiwan ahead of Wu’s visit.

During his visit, Wu met with EU leaders and noted their increased emphasis on peace in the Taiwan Strait and the preservation of the status quo. He urged the EU to consider further cooperation with Taiwan, such as a bilateral investment agreement (BIA). Although Taiwan was included on the EU’s list of potential BIA partners in 2015, no discussions have taken place since then.

Wu acknowledged the challenges in advancing the BIA and expressed concern that it may be hindered by the frozen EU-China investment deal. He stated, “We hope we can go ahead with it and we hope we can persuade the EU leadership to think about this in a positive way.”

(Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Nick Macfie)

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