The bilateral economic talks known as the 19th Canada-Taiwan Economic Consultations (CTEC) were held in Ottawa, Canada on Wednesday local time. The meeting was co-chaired by Taiwan Deputy Economics Minister Chern-Chyi Chen (陳正祺) and Canada’s Assistant Deputy Minister for Indo-Pacific Global Affairs Weldon Epp.
In a statement on Thursday, Taiwan’s International Trade Administration said that the two sides discussed a wide range of trade policy issues, including supply chain resilience and the green economy. The two sides agreed to establish a framework for a safe, reliable, resilient, and mutually beneficial supply chain, which will promote cooperation on achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Under the framework, the two sides will focus on areas such as clean fuels and renewable energy, green transportation, advanced manufacturing, R&D, talent development, and innovation.
In the statement, Chen is quoted as saying that both sides have made significant progress on trade, such as completed negotiations on the Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (FIPA), and plans by Taiwanese company E-One Moli Energy to invest in a high-efficiency lithium-ion battery cell plant in Vancouver.
According to statistics, Taiwan is Canada's sixth largest trading partner in Asia. In 2022, bilateral trade totaled about US$5.8 billion. Taiwanese investment in Canada was nearly US$600 million in 2022, while Canadian investment in Taiwan was nearly US$1 billion.