President Ma Ying-jeou says a landmark economic agreement with China in 2010 has helped Taiwan break from isolation.
Ma made the comments on Thursday while receiving scholars attending a conference on reforms in China. Ma said that since he took office six years ago, Taiwan and China have signed 21 agreements. He also said that of these, the most important one is the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA).
"Taiwan is the 18th biggest trading nation in the global trading system, and we're among the top ten of the 21 member states of APEC. When we trade with other countries, people all welcome it, but they hesitate when we want to sign agreements," said Ma.
"After ECFA was signed, we were able to sign economic cooperation agreements with New Zealand and Singapore and an investment agreement with Japan. This is the first time we’ve been able to break from diplomatic isolation and expand Taiwan’s international presence," he said.
President Ma said that before he took office in 2008, Taiwan's tense relationship with China spilled over to its relations with other countries. Ma also said that in the future, he will continue to push for better cross-strait ties.