President Ma Ying-jeou and Vice President Wu Den-yih met on the morning of August 27 with the delegation that will represent the ROC at the 20th APEC Economic Leaders' Week to be held in Vladivostok, Russia. The president reiterated that the government will continue working to overcome obstacles so that Taiwan can join the Trans-Pacific Partnership within eight years, thereby enhancing the nation's competitiveness.
In remarks, the president first expressed his appreciation to the leader of the delegation, Mr. Lien Chan (連戰), who will be attending the event on his behalf for the fifth time. The summit, he said, is the most important and highest-level international meeting in the Asia-Pacific region. President Ma specially noted that over the past half year, the European debt crisis, the slowdown in the US economic recovery, and a weak global economy have impacted much of the world. Representatives from the ROC and other nations will gather to discuss response measures, he said, adding that he appreciates the efforts that everyone will make.
President Ma stated that this year's APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting (AELM) will take place on September 8 and September 9 in Vladivostok, with the theme of this year's event being "Integrate to Grow, Innovate to Prosper." The following four key topics have been adopted as APEC 2012 priorities: "trade and investment liberalization, regional economic integration," "strengthening food security," "establishing reliable supply chains," and "intensive cooperation to foster innovation growth." The president commented that there are many similarities between this year's themes and the focus of the government here on strengthening of economic growth momentum, active cultivation and recruitment of talent, incorporation of a service element by manufacturing firms, incorporation of advanced technology and an international reach by service firms, and achievement of greater distinctiveness by firms in traditional sectors. He said he is confident that the ROC delegation will hold in-depth exchanges of opinions with their counterparts from other countries, thereby highlighting the ROC's efforts and determination to participate in regional economic integration.
President Ma pointed out that Taiwan has already benefitted from its participation in economic integration, noting that after Taiwan signed the Cross-Straits Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) with mainland China two years ago, it was able to enter into negotiations with Singapore last year on the Agreement between Singapore and the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu on Economic Partnership (ASTEP). In addition, Taiwan and New Zealand are also in talks on an economic cooperation agreement. The president said he is pleased that these talks are progressing smoothly.
In discussing the economic and trade relationship between Taiwan and the United States, the president said that the issue of US beef imports to Taiwan has been resolved. He said that he hopes the delegation during the meetings in Vladivostok will talk with American officials about how to speed up the negotiations under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) between the two countries. Even though the United States will hold presidential and congressional elections later this year and the trade talks thus could be influenced by various factors, the president said that his administration will continue to make every effort to have negotiations recommence before the end of the year in order to further Taiwan's national interests and fight for its economic future.
President Ma stressed that even though Taiwan is a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the resultant boost to the nation's economic competitiveness has been limited, so the ROC must rely on bilateral mechanisms to further promote free trade. Taiwan needs to approach other nations and work to sign bilateral agreements with them. At the same time, our nation also needs to engage in reform domestically and change its protectionist mindset, he said.
The president believes that the impact of trade liberalization in Taiwan is "trade creation," not "trade diversion," and pointed to Taiwan's experience in the WTO as an example. Joining the world trade body in 2002 has brought rapid growth in external trade, while the negative impact on Taiwan's agricultural sector has not been so bad as originally expected, and in fact the volume of agricultural exports has grown, he said. This has helped to boost productivity among farmers and enhanced the overall competitiveness of Taiwan's agricultural sector. President Ma said this transformation shows that Taiwan increases rather than decreases its developmental opportunities by embracing free trade.
President Ma furthermore stated that less than 5% of Taiwan's exported products are covered by free trade agreements or other accords, but for Korea, Singapore, and Japan, this same ratio is about 35%, 70%, and 20%, respectively. This shows that Taiwan needs to continue working to catch up with others and cannot afford to let any opportunity to participate in economic integration to slip through its hands. In addition, the president said, the government will continue working to promote economic development, create jobs, and reduce the wealth gap. Even though the government over the past four years has created over 470,000 jobs, the nation's unemployment rate in July still hit 4.31%. Consequently, the government will continue to work to reduce the unemployment rate, he stated.
The president also mentioned that Mr. Lien is a veteran AELM participant, having attended the meeting over the past four years in Peru, Singapore, Japan, and the United States. He has taken advantage of the AELM to familiarize other countries with Taiwan's economic development and its serious intention to participate in the international community. President Ma said he hopes the delegation this year will again speak up on behalf of the nation, boost its economic and trade relations in the Asia-Pacific region, and pave the way more for future development opportunities.
After President Ma concluded his remarks, Mr. Lien then delivered a statement. He said that this year's event will revolve around the themes of integration and innovation. In previous years, discussions have centered on sustainable growth and innovation-driven growth, but this year talks will also include the topics of balanced growth and inclusive growth. He said he hopes to compile the opinions of the representatives of each nation, with the hope of delivering a report on regional growth strategy at the AELM in 2015. Taiwan's representatives to this year's event will therefore exchange opinions on a broad range of economic development issues with their counterparts and share Taiwan's experience in employment, education, and policy on small- and medium-sized enterprises, he said.
Mr. Lien also stated that the ROC delegation receives quite a bit of attention during the meetings. He explained that he delivered a report last year on the industrial supply chain, and has been asked to deliver a report this year on multinational companies in emerging economies.
Mr. Lien said that the APEC summit provides a platform for interaction among the participants and enables each country to further enhance its relationships with important economic partners. He said he is confident that he will be able to exchange opinions with delegations from the United States, mainland China, Singapore, New Zealand, Japan, and Indonesia. He also said he hopes to substantively strengthen interaction between Taiwan and Russia, the host of this year's meeting, thereby enhancing opportunities for bilateral cooperation.
Besides Mr. Lien, the delegation from the ROC will include Stephen S.F. Chen (陳錫蕃), Chen Wu-hsiung (陳武雄), Chang Chang-pang (張昌邦), Ho Show-chung (何壽川), Lin Ming-cheng (林明成), Jason C.S. Lin (林蒼生), David S. Hong (洪德生), Jason C.S. Chang (張虔生), Leslie C. Koo (辜成允), Chiao Yu-lon (焦佑倫), Harace Lin (林鴻明), Tsai Hong-tu (蔡宏圖), Matthew F.C. Miao (苗豐強), Cher Wang (王雪紅), Council for Economic Planning and Development Minister Yiin Chii-ming (尹啟銘), Minister of Economic Affairs Shih Yen-shiang (施顏祥), National Security Council Advisor Chiu Kun-shuan (邱坤玄), and Executive Yuan Spokesman Hu Yu-wei (胡幼偉).