President Ma Ying-joeu says he hopes Taiwan and the United States can sign a bilateral investment agreement soon. He spoke about the matter on Monday while receiving former US Labor Secretary Elaine Chao.
Chao and her family emigrated from Taiwan to the US when she was 8. The 61-year-old Chao is the first American woman of Chinese descent to serve in the US Cabinet. She was labor secretary from 2001 to 2009 under the Bush administration. Chao’s husband, Mitch McConnell, is a senior Republican senator set to become the Senate Majority leader following the recent midterm elections. They are now seen as one of the most influential couples in US politics.
President Ma said that US-Taiwan relations have been steadily improving since he took office six years ago. He said he hopes to further strengthen ties by signing a bilateral investment agreement and participating in regional economic blocks such as TPP and RCEP.
“Also, we hope Taiwan can participate in the Trans Pacific Partnership agreement and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership," said Ma. "The two are both very important regional economic alliances.”
TPP is a US-led free trade agreement along the Pacific Rim that has excluded China. RCEP, on the other hand, is an ASEAN-led arrangement that currently includes 16 countries.
The president said that US President Obama has reiterated his support for Taiwan. During a speech on Sunday, Obama also lauded democracies in Asia, citing Taiwan as an example.