Taipei, Aug. 15 (CNA) On the back of a restructuring in the global supply chain amid escalating trade tensions between Washington and Beijing, Taiwan's investments in the countries under the "New Southbound Policy" surpassed investments in China in the first half of this year, Deputy Economics Minister Chen Chern-chyi (陳正祺) said Tuesday.Speaking at the Taiwan-ASEAN-India Strategic Investment Partnership Forum held in Taipei, Chen said that under the New Southbound Policy, Taiwan's investments in the 18 countries under the policy in the first six months of this year hit US$2.126 billion, compared with US$1.9 billion invested in China.Since 2016, when President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) took office, the government has launched the New Southbound Policy in a bid to reduce Taiwan's economic dependence on China.The policy seeks to enhance trade and exchanges between Taiwan and 18 countries targeted by the policy, which are Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Australia and New Zealand.Chen said the New Southbound Policy had simply echoed an international trend by reducing economic dependence on a single market, referring to China, but reinforced economic ties with the ASEAN countries and many others targeted by the policy.The policy has strengthened Taiwan's economic resilience, Chen added.In 2022, Taiwan's investments in the 18 countries under the New Southbound Policy rose 121.41 percent from a year earlier to US$5.3 billion, according to Chen.The trade war between the United States and China erupted in 2018, Chen said, foreign investors quickly flocked to the ASEAN countries, and between 2018 and 2021, the ASEAN countries became the third largest destination of foreign investors, behind only the U.S. and the European Union, Chen said.Chen said many Taiwanese electronics companies have built a cluster in ASEAN countries.Chen took Vietnam as an example, saying Taiwanese tech heavyweights, such as iPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., and other contract electronics makers Wistron Corp., Quanta Computer Inc., Pegatron Corp., Compal Electronics Inc. and Inventec Corp. have set up production sites in the 18 New Southbound Policy countries.In Thailand, Taiwanese investors, such as Apex International Co. and TAIFLEX Scientific Co., have built a printed circuit board (PCB) cluster, while Indonesia has attracted Taiwanese companies, including footwear makers Pou Chen Corp., Feng Tay Enterprises Co. and Eclat Textile Co., Chen said.To meet carbon emission reduction demand, Taiwanese investors, such as Hon Hai and power management solution provider Delta Electronics Inc., have extended their reach to Thailand, Indonesia and India to invest in emerging businesses, including energy storage solutions and electric vehicles, Chen said.(By Liu Chien-ling and Frances Huang)Enditem/ASG (ICE TAIPEI)

Fonte notizia: Organi di Stampa - Focus Taiwan News Channel