"Taiwan is seeking Saudi participation in some of
the new 12 projects under this massive plan initiated by Taiwanese President Ma
Ying-jeou, especially in the fields of transportation, new technology industry
and environmental protection," he added.
Wu, who just joined the Jeddah office, said
Saudi-Taiwanese trade showed a marked improvement over the years. Trade between
the two countries grew from $1.77 billion in 1999 to $16.24 billion in 2008.
The Kingdom's exports to Taiwan increased from $1.38 billion in 1999 to $15.24
billion in 2008, while Taiwan's exports to Saudi Arabia surged from $382
million to $992 million in the same period.
Wu said Taiwan mostly imports crude oil and petrochemical
material from Saudi Arabia, while Taiwan exports a wide range of products
including electronics, machinery, plastic, auto spare parts and IT products
such as mobiles and laptops.
Taiwan's exports to GCC countries were about $2.85
billion in 2008. "In 2009, there was a drop in exports to the GCC
countries because of the global financial crisis," said George Shih,
director of the commercial section.
Taiwan is an export-oriented country and trade has been
the major engine for economic growth over the past several decades. However,
because of the global financial crisis, Taiwan's total trade value for 2009
reached $378.04 billion, a decline of 23.8 percent compared with 2008. Taiwan's
exports fell 20.3 percent to $203.67 billion while imports shrank 27.5 percent
to $174.37 billion. Total trade surplus amounted to $29.30 billion.
In 2009, Taiwan's major trading partners were mainland
China (including Hong Kong), Japan, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN), the United States and the European Union. Together, these partners
accounted for more than 85 percent of Taiwan's exports and over 60 percent of
imports. "We want to promote trade relations not only with these
countries, but also other friendly countries such as Canada, Mexico, Brazil and
GCC countries," he said.
Wu said Taiwan's growing relations with China also helped
to boost its trade. "China has continued to be our top export market and
our main important source of trade surplus. China accounted for 41.4 percent of
total exports in 2009, compared to 39 percent in 2008," he said.
Wu said Taiwan wants to become a global invention center,
as it is very active in R&D and product innovation. It provides good
quality products and services that enable the development of international
brands.
Wu said the Taiwan government continues to assist the
private sector to develop electronic, telecoms technology and optoelectronics.
It is also giving incentives to the private sector to do research and develop
new products.
Taiwan has competitive advantages in the IT manufacturing
industry. It is the second largest IT hardware manufacturing country in the
world. Taiwan's semiconductor, optoelectronic, information and communication
products account for more than 70 percent of the global market share.
Shih said Taiwan delegations visit Saudi Arabia regularly
to share expertise with each other. A new Taiwanese delegation of 22 companies
is visiting Jeddah on Saturday after its successful tours to Lebanon and
Jordan. "The purpose of this visit is to explore possibilities of
cooperation between the companies of the two countries," Shih said.
