President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of November 2 with Vice Chairman of the European Parliament-Taiwan Friendship Group and Liberal International President Hans van Baalen at the Presidential Office. The two exchanged opinions on a broad range of issues, including the economic and trade relationship between Taiwan and the European Union (EU), economic stimulus policies, and issues of sovereignty in the East China Sea.
On the topic of economic and trade ties, President Ma commented that the EU is Taiwan's fourth largest trading partner. It is also our largest source of foreign investment, with a stock of over US$30.2 billion, or about 30% of Taiwan's total. Meanwhile, Taiwan is the EU's seventh largest trading partner in Asia and 19th largest trading partner in the world, he said, with bilateral trade last year reaching US$52.6 billion, up 8% from the previous year. The president remarked that these figures point to a close bilateral economic relationship.
President Ma stated that as the world's largest economic entity, the EU should negotiate an economic cooperation agreement with Taiwan as soon as possible to avoid falling behind other trade competitors in Asia. He said that the two sides could each carry out their own feasibility studies, followed by a joint feasibility study at an appropriate time down the road. After all preparations have been made, Taiwan and the EU could then negotiate an economic cooperation accord.
President Ma stated that Taiwan is working to expand its trade with emerging economies and the Islamic world. In addition, to respond to challenges associated with slowing economic growth in mainland China, Taiwan is devising methods to change the existing economic cooperation model between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, so that goods from Taiwan can be more effectively exported to mainland China. At the same time, the government is also presently in talks with Singapore and New Zealand on economic cooperation accords, and hopes to further promote economic liberalization in order to achieve a more open economy and accelerate its integration into the global economic and trading regime.
The president stressed that even though domestic industry is highly efficient, Taiwan falls short in the areas of innovation and brand power, so the government will work with industry to promote the development of key components and precision equipment, as well as encourage the establishment of brand names. And to deal with the current economic environment, the president said, the government will not only review its policies but also formulate and introduce new measures to turn crisis into opportunity.
In discussing sovereignty issues in the East China Sea, President Ma stated that EU High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton on September 25 issued a statement in which she called on all parties concerned to pursue peaceful and cooperative measures in resolving the dispute over sovereignty of the Diaoyutai Islets. President Ma said that the spirit of her statement was exactly the same as that of the East China Sea Peace Initiative that he announced on August 5.
President Ma furthermore stated that upon taking office, he immediately expressed his desire for the ROC to become a peacemaker, a provider of humanitarian aid, a promoter of cultural ties, a creator of new technologies and business opportunities, and a standard-bearer of Chinese culture. The president said that the initiative he has launched in response to the territorial dispute in the East China Sea was crafted with reference to the way Europe resolved the dispute over territorial rights in the North Sea. He stated that the people of Europe wisely recognized that "although sovereignty over national territory cannot be compromised, natural resources can be shared." The success achieved by Europe in this regard is quite admirable, he stated.
Vice Chairman Van Baalen expressed strong support for Taiwan's desire to negotiate an economic cooperation agreement with the EU. He also praised Taiwan's call to handle the East China Sea dispute in accordance with international law, and to resolve the matter peacefully. Vice Chairman Van Baalen said he hopes that mainland China and Japan will also clearly see that the only means to resolve this issue is through international law.
Vice Chairman Van Baalen also mentioned the importance of having a broad consensus within Taiwan on cross-strait relations. Consequently, on his visits to Taiwan, he has reiterated to both the president and the leader of the main opposition party that everyone should adopt a unified stance with respect to mainland China, as this would be in the best interest of the nation. Vice Chairman Van Baalen commented that President Ma presently has already created a foundation for the cross-strait relationship that should serve as important reference for all future governments of Taiwan.
Besides the aforementioned topics, President Ma and Vice Chairman Van Baalen also agreed on the importance of developing clean energy. The president briefed Vice Chairman Van Baalen on Taiwan's energy conservation and carbon reduction objectives, as well as the successes achieved on these fronts over the past four years. Both sides can learn from each other in these efforts, he said, thereby further protecting the environment.
Also attending the meeting were Secretary-General to the President Timothy Chin-tien Yang (楊進添), National Security Council Advisor Francis Yi-Hua Kan (甘逸驊), and Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Vanessa Yea-Ping Shih (史亞平).