Taiwan's Apec Bilateral Talks To Focus On Cptpp Bid -- Top Trade Negotiator

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 13 (Bernama-CNA) -- Taiwan's top trade negotiator John Deng said on Sunday (local time) that the primary objective of bilateral talks during the ongoing Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum is to garner support for Taiwan's participation in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

In an interview with Central News Agency (CNA), Deng, who is part of the Taiwan delegation for APEC 2023 that is being held from Nov 11-17 in San Francisco, said the forum is expected to serve as an important opportunity for Taiwan's delegates to meet representatives from CPTPP member countries.

Deng said the Taiwanese delegation is aiming to hold as many bilateral meetings as possible to express its strong desire to join the CPTPP and brief member countries about the preparatory efforts Taiwan has been making.

The CPTPP currently has 11 members: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. The United Kingdom will join the trade bloc soon.

Taiwan applied on Sept 22, 2021 to join the economic bloc, which represents 500 million consumers and 13.5 per cent of global gross domestic product (GDP).

APEC, founded in 1989, has a total of 21 members.

Deng said he expects that other APEC members will be interested in discussing semiconductor cooperation, particularly as chip security has increasingly become a national security issue in the wake of disrupted supply chains post-COVID-19 and growing geopolitical tensions.

Taiwan currently produces about 90 per cent of the most advanced semiconductors, with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the largest contract chipmaker in the world, commanding more than a 50 per cent share in the global pure-play wafer foundry industry.

TSMC is currently constructing two advanced wafer plants in Arizona, is in the process of building one in Japan, and has recently announced plans to set up a joint venture for another in Germany.

-- BERNAMA-CNA