President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of April 18 with Mr. Dominique V. Turpin, president of the Switzerland-based International Institute for Management Development (IMD). The president welcomed Mr. Turpin to Taiwan and exchanged opinions with him on national competitiveness and development strategies.
In remarks, the president first commented that on April 2 of last year Mr. Turpin attended the Monthly Meeting at the Presidential Office to deliver an address entitled "Competitiveness Landscape 2012 & Opportunities to Strengthen Taiwan's Competitiveness." At that time, Mr. Turpin recognized the competitiveness of Taiwan's economy and offered a number of suggestions that resonated widely here, President Ma mentioned.
The president stated that the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook offers an objective breakdown of the strengths and weaknesses of policies instituted by governments throughout the world. The yearbook, he said, carries great weight and provides important reference for the ROC government in evaluating policies to enhance the nation's competitiveness.
As for the IMD's national competitiveness rankings, President Ma noted, Taiwan moved from 23rd place in 2009 to eighth in 2010, sixth in 2011, and seventh in 2012. While Taiwan's competitiveness ranking slipped to 11th in the 2013 report, Taiwan, along with mainland China and Korea, were listed as the only "winners" in Asia, the president said, adding that Taiwan's rankings over the past four years are the best ever.
President Ma furthermore explained that the IMD believed the main reason for the jump in Taiwan's competitiveness ranking from 23rd in 2009 to eighth in 2010 was its active expansion of relations with mainland China and its signing of the Cross-Straits Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), which was conducive to strengthening Taiwan's competitive environment. Meanwhile, the president commented, the main reason for the decline in Taiwan's competitiveness ranking in 2013 was the nation's inability to carry out timely adjustments in the face of waning economic momentum and the impact on corporate efficiency from changes in the global economic framework. He commented that the government has already carried out a thorough examination of the situation and has adopted two strategies to improve it.
On the domestic front, the president noted, the government is presently promoting free economic pilot zones (FEPZs), and it continues to deregulate and liberalize Taiwan's markets, he said, noting that restrictions in 903 laws and regulations have been eased over the past six years. At the same time, he mentioned, economic activities that offer high added value—including smart logistics, international health, value-added agriculture, financial services, and educational innovation—will be promoted in the zones. The president said it is hoped that this initiative will help drive a transformation of corporate structure here and thus enhance Taiwan's global competitiveness.
On the external front, President Ma stated, Taiwan is actively seeking to sign free trade agreements or economic cooperation agreements with its major trading partners. For instance, Taiwan signed the ECFA with mainland China in 2010, and the Taiwan-Japan Bilateral Investment Arrangement in 2011, he remarked. Moreover, Taiwan and the United States resumed negotiations under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement in March of last year, and Taiwan also signed the ANZTEC economic cooperation agreement with New Zealand and the ASTEP economic partnership agreement with Singapore, he said, pointing out that these efforts demonstrate Taiwan's determination to open its markets.
President Ma also mentioned that recently the Cross-Strait Trade in Services Agreement has triggered considerable controversy here, which has delayed legislative approval of the agreement. Consequently, government agencies intend to further strengthen communication with the public to explain its content and help the public understand that the advantages of cross-strait trade outweigh the disadvantages. The president pointed to the early harvest list of the ECFA as an example, stating that although the number of goods included on the list is limited, bilateral trade of these items has grown by 35% from NT$15.2 billion in 2010 to NT$20.5 billion currently. In comparison, the growth in trade of goods not included in the early harvest list stands at just 6.3%, so growth in the two categories differs by a factor of over five, he said. In addition, the president remarked, since the signing of the ECFA the government has actively sought to develop trade relations with other nations. As a result, while Taiwan's exports to mainland China have grown, exports to the mainland as a share of overall exports have declined. This is conducive to balanced trade and reduced reliance on mainland China, he stated.
President Ma acknowledged that market liberalization and deregulation carry a certain degree of risk, but they are worth trying when the benefits outweigh the risks. The president also pointed out that the government has budgeted NT$98.2 billion that can be used over a 10-year period to assist companies and factories that could be adversely affected by these measures. A range of corporate counseling and stimulus measures will be offered to those that seek such assistance to help them overcome challenges they may face, he said.
Lastly, the president again thanked Mr. Turpin for accepting the invitation to come to Taiwan, and said he wants to hear Mr. Turpin's thoughts and hopefully pick up ideas on how to make Taiwan more competitive as the global economy recovers.
Joining Mr. Turpin on the visit to Taiwan was Arturo Bris, director of the IMD World Competitiveness Center.