Companies from Taiwan and the United States signed seven memorandums of understanding (MOUs) in a high-level trade meeting in Washington to enhance cooperation in fields such as renewable energy and 5G communications, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs on Thursday.
The MOUs inked during the first physical meeting under the Technology Trade and Investment Collaboration (TTIC) framework could help both countries enhance cooperation and stabilize global supply chains, said Economic Affairs Minister Wang Mei-hua (王美花), head of the Taiwanese delegation.
Participating Taiwan companies included state-run Taiwan Power Co. (Taipower), Aerospace Industrial Development Corp. (AIDC), Quanta Cloud Technology, HTC Corp., TMY Technology Inc. and Edgecore Networks Corp., the ministry said.
On the U.S. side, representatives from General Electric Co. (GE), Intel Corp., RingCentral, Inc., Lumen Technologies and DuPont were present.
Among the more notable partnerships signed are ones in which GE will help AIDC use hydrogen-based technologies in power generation to reduce greenhouse emissions and develop its own maintenance capabilities on a turbine-supported electrification project, the ministry pointed out.
Meanwhile, GE will also work with Taipower to achieve its goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, according to the ministry.
Other MOUs also cover ICT cooperation in areas such as smart manufacturing, entertainment, healthcare and 5G connectivity, it said.
Besides attending the TTIC meeting, the first since the body was established in December 2021 for Taiwan and the U.S. to develop commercial programs and strengthen critical technology supply chains, Wang said her trip, which will run from Oct. 9-16, has also facilitated exchanges between about 80 Taiwanese and American companies.
Wang said the exchanges had generated a positive response, and that she believed there would be more TTIC meetings next year, though the date and location were still to be decided.
Wang will be visiting companies in Silicon Valley, including Applied Materials, Inc., after wrapping up her trip in Washington on Friday.
She expressed hopes that her visit could generate orders and potential investments that could reach NT$30 billion (US$940.91 million).
Wang reiterated Taiwan’s critical role in the global semiconductor industry on the back of a well-built industry cluster over the past decades, supported by high-quality talent and a sound legal framework for semiconductor intellectual property protection.
Any disruption caused to the semiconductor industry in Taiwan could severely impact high-tech sectors and economies around the world, she said, urging there to be stable relations between Taiwan and China.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel