President Lee Teng-hui this afternoon met with Sir Martin Laing, chairman of the British Trade Board, and extended a warm welcome to him.
President Lee told his guest that, though the Republic of China and the United Kingdom lack diplomatic ties, he hoped bilateral relations between both countries would be strengthened in the future.
president Lee also noted that the U.K. is the ROC's third largest trading partner in Europe--next only to Germany and the Netherlands--while two-way trade volume reached US$ 4.61 billion last year. Bilateral trade relations are increasingly closer and, among others, British exports to Taiwan have seen an average growth rate of 70 percent annually since 1994, he added.
When talking about the ROC's plan to develop Taiwan into an Asia-Pacific Regional Operations Center, the President pointed out that the U.K. has rich experiences in the fields of finance, telecommunications, and privitization of state-run enterprises, which the ROC can learn from. President Lee went on to say that he would like to see more exchanges between the two countries.
Sir Martin told the President that he was impressed at the significant progress Taiwan has made in economic liberalization and political reforms since his first visit to the island five years ago.
Sir Martin also said that Britain, with an unemployment rate lower than either France or Germany, is a nice place for Taiwan businessmen to invest, adding that some eighty Taiwan enterprises have already made investments in Britain.
Sir Martin Laing was accompanied by Mr. Alan Collins, director of the British Trade and Cultural Office in Taipei, to the Office of the President for the meeting. Also present were Dr. Ding Mou-shih, secretary-general of the ROC National Security Council, and Mr. Stephen S.F. Chen, deputy secretary-general to the President.