Economics Minister John Deng says Taiwan needs to shift more people and capital into ASEAN nations. That’s following the establishment late last year of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC).
The goal of the AEC is to promote the free flow of goods and capital among member countries in order to establish a single market.
The ten Southeast Asian countries that make up ASEAN are together Taiwan’s second largest export market and second largest trade partner. In 2014, trade with ASEAN countries made up 16% of Taiwan’s total trade volume.
Taiwan’s economics ministry hopes to take advantage of the establishment of the AEC, and that it can also remove trade barriers between Taiwan and ASEAN countries.
Economics Minister John Deng spoke on Monday about why Taiwan needs to act quickly.
“We won’t see a huge impact [from the establishment of the AEC] in the short term, the important thing is whether we will be ready [to deal with it]," said Deng.
"We have a lot of assets for business development in ASEAN countries; many Taiwanese students and businessmen are already settled there," he said. "They form a great foundation upon which we can do more.”