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Canada and Taiwan have successfully concluded negotiations on a bilateral agreement aimed at bolstering foreign investment, with both nations committed to ensuring its swift implementation, as affirmed by Canadian Trade Minister Mary Ng and Taiwan’s government on Tuesday.
Taiwan, in the face of mounting military and political pressures from China to acknowledge Beijing’s sovereignty claims over the island, has been actively seeking increased diplomatic and moral support from major Western democracies, including Canada. Part of this strategic push involves forging additional trade agreements with Western nations.
The “Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Arrangement” aligns seamlessly with Canada’s broader strategy to enhance its trade presence and influence in the Indo-Pacific region.
Official figures from Canada reveal that trade between Canada and Taiwan surged to C$10.2 billion in 2021, a substantial increase from C$7.4 billion in 2020. Canada’s total bilateral trade volume with the world surpasses C$1.5 trillion.
Taiwan’s government has warmly welcomed this development, with the Office of Trade Negotiations expressing the intention to sign the agreement once all necessary “administrative procedures,” including legal reviews, are satisfactorily completed.
John Deng, Taiwan’s chief trade negotiator, expressed optimism about expediting the signing process, aiming for completion before the end of the year. This agreement is anticipated to facilitate Taipei’s quest to join a significant pan-Pacific free trade pact, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
Canada is slated to hold the rotating chair of the CPTPP next year, a group that China has also sought to join. Taiwan has been actively lobbying member states, including Canada, to support its application. It emphasizes its commitment to transparency and the rule of law in its domestic economy and international business interactions, a stance that differentiates it from Beijing’s approach.
Notably, China regards Taiwan as its own territory, while Taiwan staunchly rejects China’s sovereignty claims. Canada, in line with most countries, maintains no formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, but both nations maintain de facto embassies in each other’s capitals.
As of the time of reporting, there was no immediate response from the Chinese embassy in Ottawa.
(Reporting by David Ljunggren; Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard and Jeanny Kao in Taipei; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Gerry Doyle)
