The head of a Washington think tank focused on Taiwan policy says the United States needs to think about trade with Taiwan as a strategic issue. Global Taiwan Institute Executive Director Russell Hsiao made the comments in an in-person interview with Rti English in Washington, D.C.
Hsiao says the policy community in Washington doesn’t spend enough time talking about the strategic importance of trade. He says in light of the new alignment between China and Russia, the U.S. should be thinking more about a “new economic order.”
Hsiao adds that a new structure could allow like-minded partners and allies to trade more with each other and look out for each other’s economic interests. He says Taiwan is the first place to start.
Hsiao also says retaining Taiwan’s current diplomatic allies remains an important goal for maintaining the status quo and preventing Beijing from upsetting it. He says the U.S. and Taiwan have a special opportunity in the Pacific Island Countries (PIC) given their strategic importance in the region. Four of Taiwan’s 13 remaining diplomatic allies are PICs.
But Hsiao points out that Taiwan should not be hyper-focused only on diplomatic recognition from these countries. He says there are important areas of cooperation in PICs that are of interest to not only Taiwan, but also countries like the U.S., Japan, and Australia. These issues include reining in illegal fishing and combating climate change.
Rti's interview with Russell Hsiao was conducted in-person on April 21, 2023 at the Global Taiwan Institute's Washington DC office. The full audio of Hsiao’s interview will be released in the coming weeks on the Rti English program The Strait Up Podcast, which airs weekly on Friday.