French Senate delegation seeks deeper trade, investment ties with Taiwan
ROC Central News Agency
04/26/2023 08:19 PM
Taipei, April 26 (CNA) French Senate Vice President Alain Richard on Wednesday expressed hope of strengthening trade and investment cooperation with Taiwan, during a meeting with Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) in Taipei.
Richard, who also chairs the French Senate's Taiwan Friendship Group, said there should be "little difficulty" for the two countries in developing commercial exchanges and investment cooperation, given Taiwan's transparent and secure environment.
He noted that he and his delegation met with Economics Minister Wang Mei-hua (王美花) on Tuesday to discuss further trade and economic cooperation between Taiwan and France.
Meanwhile, Chen expressed hope that the two countries would deepen exchanges in talent incubation and research and development, especially in the areas of semiconductors, space technology and artificial intelligence.
Also in attendance at Wednesday's meeting were three of Richard's Senate colleagues Alexandra Borchio-Fontimp, Valérie Boyer and Brigitte Devésa, as well as the group's secretary Philippe Péjo.
The five-member delegation has also met with Legislative Speaker You Si-kun (游錫堃), and Digital Minister Audrey Tang (唐鳳), among other officials, since arriving in Taiwan on Monday for a five-day trip.
The group's visit comes weeks after French President Emmanuel Macron suggested in an interview that Europe should avoid being dragged into a crisis between the United States and China over Taiwan.
Macron's comments, made during a visit to China, were seen by critics as being too accommodating of Beijing as it ramps up military pressure on Taiwan, including conducting three days of military drills around Taiwan in the wake of a meeting between President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California in early April.
Richard, speaking with local media on Monday at the Legislature, did not comment on Macron's remarks, but he noted that France continued to oppose any unilateral change to the status quo of the Taiwan Strait by force.
On Tuesday, the delegation also met with Eric Chu (朱立倫), chairman of the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT), to exchange views on cross-strait issues and world affairs, according to the KMT.
Commenting on current tensions across the Taiwan Strait, Chu told the delegation that the KMT had always proposed to engage in dialogue with Beijing as a way to reduce the risk of a conflict in the area, the party said in a press release after the meeting.
At the same time, Chu also emphasized the need to continue reinforcing Taiwan's defense capability, the release added.
(By Teng Pei-ju)
Enditem/ASG
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