Finance Minister Chang Sheng-ford says that economic cooperation with China will be needed to stem the decline in Taiwan’s exports. Chang was speaking at the Legislature on Thursday.
Taiwan’s total export value in October was the highest during the past five months. However, Chang said that despite these positive signs, decline in exports is still in the double digits.
In response to questions about working with China and joining China’s supply chain, Chang said that Taiwan’s more advanced industries must take advantage of the much bigger market in China.
"China is the world’s second largest economy, and [will soon be] the largest," Chang said. "Taiwan is geographically close to China and has no choice but to work with it. We have very few advantages over China, so cooperation over completion is the only way to go."
Chang said that South Korean exports have been in a slump for the past ten consecutive months, and are in worse shape than Taiwan’s exports. He said that 98% of Taiwan’s economy is made up of small- and medium-size enterprises, in contrast with the corporation-driven economy of South Korea. He said that the impact of export decline on ordinary lives is lessened, because declines are spread out through a greater variety of industries.