On Wednesday, March 10, Global Atlanta and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Atlanta jointly hosted a webinar titled “Taiwan: Innovation, Investment, and the Future of US Trade in Asia.” The event featured a stellar line up of speakers and panelists. Taiwan’s Minister of Economic Affairs Mei-Hua Wang delivered a recorded keynote address. This is the first time in twenty years Taiwan’s Minister of Economic Affairs has spoken in the Southeast US. Recorded opening remarks were delivered by Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bob Rolfe. Dr. Peter Tsai, inventor of the N95 core material delivered a presentation on N95 respirators and other COVID-19 protection advice.
Minister Wang spoke on many relevant topics relating to the US-Taiwan economic relationship. First, she discussed how Taiwan has been emerging as a crucial and trusted supply chain partner for the US since the onset of COVID-19. An example would be Taiwan’s quick coordination to supply critical PPE and semiconductor chips for automakers, as both have been in shortage during the pandemic. Additionally, Minister Wang discussed existing and new collaborations between the US and Taiwan in cutting-edge innovation. Some of the existing US industries in which Taiwan plays an essential role are ICT, automobiles, aerospace, and heavy machinery. Taiwan and the US both uphold strong intellectual property rights and laws, a strong building block of the collaborative relationship. Moving forward, the Taiwan Ministry of Economic Affairs has pinpointed four areas that will feature at the forefront of US-Taiwan collaboration: semiconductors, ICT, AI, and other cutting-edge technologies; green energy industries; medical industries; and global market development. Under the framework of the newly signed 5-year MOU through the Economic Prosperity Partnership Dialogue, the economic partnership between the US and Taiwan will continue growing and featuring at the forefront of trailblazing innovation in the future.
Opening speaker Commissioner Rolfe spoke about Tennessee’s strong business ties with Taiwan. Each year, Tennessee and Taiwan trade billions of dollars’ worth of goods. Commissioner Rolfe also invited Minister Wang to visit Tennessee. Panelist John Woodward, Vice President of Global Commerce at the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, pointed out that Taiwan and Atlanta present many similarities in high-tech innovation. Both economies are emerging as leaders in 5G technology, electric vehicles, and smart-city development. This trend has been noticed by Microsoft and Google, which have both recently announced huge expansions in Taiwan and Atlanta.
In addition to the nearly 200 registered attendees, many important economic figures in the Southeast joined the event. These included Wally Wang and Clarke Thompson from the South Carolina Department of Commerce; Scott McMurray, Deputy Commissioner of Global Commerce at the Georgia Department of Economic Development; Paul Thompson, interim marketing director for the Georgia Department of Agriculture; Nathaniel Dick, Business Development Manager at the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina; and Hilda Lockhart, Director of International Trade Development at the Alabama Department of Commerce.(E)
