Office of the President Republic of China(Taiwan)

President Tsai Ing-wen met on the morning of October 30 with a delegation of scholars and experts from the US-based National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR). She stated that Taiwan is a trustworthy partner, and emphasized that we are determined to work with all like-minded countries to create an even more open, prosperous, and free Indo-Pacific.

In remarks, President Tsai stated that she was delighted to see so many old friends of Taiwan at the Presidential Office like Dr. Ashley Tellis (Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace) and Roy Kamphausen (Senior Vice President for Research at NBR), as well as some new ones. In recent years, she said, research reports issued by the NBR have often mentioned Taiwan, showing that Taiwan plays an important role in this region.

The president pointed out that as the political and economic situations in any one country influence other countries, we have been actively implementing our New Southbound Policy over the past two years to foster closer relations with neighboring countries, and promote regional prosperity and stability through cooperation.

The president expressed hope that during the guests' visit to the Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation, they will see how Taiwan is taking a "people-centered" approach to sharing its experiences with the New Southbound countries in education, public health, agricultural development, and technological innovation.

Over the past year, President Tsai said, we have seen dramatic changes in global politics and economics, especially in terms of trade. To address these complexities, we are working to harmonize with international standards through liberalization, making our laws and regulations more transparent, and implementing system reforms to make Taiwan more competitive.

In addition to our continued efforts to consolidate economic and trade links with the New Southbound countries, the president stated, we are also taking concrete action to enhance our economic partnerships with the United States and other like-minded countries. Taiwan corporations like the Chinese Petroleum Corporation and Formosa Plastics are increasing their investments in the United States, and our agricultural goodwill mission that visited the United States last month also signed a letter of intent.

President Tsai said she is sure that from our efforts, the visiting delegation members can all see that Taiwan is a trustworthy partner. And we are determined to work with all like-minded countries to create an even more open, prosperous, and free Indo-Pacific.

The president closed her remarks by once again welcoming the visitors to Taiwan, and saying that she looks forward to more bilateral exchanges.

Included in the delegation were Charles Boustany, inaugural chair holder of the Center for Innovation, Trade, and Strategy at NBR; Stephen Lanza, former Commanding General of the I Corps at Joint Base Lewis–McChord; James Zumwalt, Chief Executive Officer of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA; Alison Szalwinski, Director of Political and Security Affairs at NBR; Dr. Ashley Tellis; and Senior Vice President Roy Kamphausen.