Economics Minister Chang Chia-juch said on Monday that signing trade pacts with China is a necessary step for Taiwan to participate in regional economic integration.
“If we hadn’t signed the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) with China, we would not have been able to sign other free trade agreement with other countries," said Chang. "So [signing trade deals with China] is a necessary step for Taiwan to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).”
Chang further explained the connection between signing trade pacts with China and joining regional trade blocks.
“When we said that we wanted to join the TPP, the US said that 12 TPP member countries have to decide together," the minister said. "So support from the US alone is not enough. And for 11 out of the 12 TPP countries, China is either their largest or second largest trading partner.”
Chang said that it is impossible to sever the ties between trade and politics. So Taiwan has to take China seriously.