UK trade policy minister Greg Hands arrived in Taiwan on Nov. 7 on a mission to boost trade between the two partners, which he said would help the UK to “future-proof” the British economy.
Hands called Taiwan a “vital [trade] partner” for the UK as the former European Union nation tilts toward the Indo-Pacific.
The UK’s Department for International Trade said Hands’s visit is “a clear signal of the UK’s commitment to boosting UK–Taiwan trade ties.”
“Like the UK, Taiwan is a champion of free and fair trade underpinned by a rules-based global trading system,” the department stated.
The resumption of in-person trade talks following a pause during the COVID-19 pandemic predictably irked Beijing, which doesn’t recognise Taiwan’s sovereignty.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian accused the UK of “sending wrong signals to Taiwan independence separatist forces” and urged the UK to stop official contact with Taiwan.
But Downing Street has defended the visit, stating that the UK has a “long-established trade relationship with Taiwan.”
During Hands’s two-day visit, the minister is expected to meet with President Tsai Ing-wen and co-host the 25th annual UK–Taiwan trade talks.
The Department for International Trade stated that Taiwan is “a key player in global supply chains” as a leading manufacturer of semiconductors.
Hands will use his meetings to “promote diversified, resilient supply chains and greater economic cooperation,” according to the department.
He will also visit the Formosa 2 offshore wind site, a project involving more than 10 British companies.
Innovate UK, a British government body, will sign a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Economic Affairs in Taiwan, including a £5 million ($5.7 million) funding commitment through 2025 and support to UK businesses via a bespoke “innovation programme” between the UK and Taiwan.
![Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen speaks at a ceremony to mark the island's National Day in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei on Oct. 10, 2022. (Sam Yeh / AFP via Getty Images)](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimg.theepochtimes.com%2Fassets%2Fuploads%2F2022%2F10%2F10%2FGettyImages-1243859432-1200x800.jpg&w=1200&q=75)
In 2021, bilateral trade between the UK and Taiwan reached a record high of £8.34 billion ($9.56 billion).
Speaking in Beijing, Zhao said the UK should “earnestly respect China’s sovereignty, uphold the one-China principle, stop any forms of official contacts with Taiwan, and stop sending wrong signals to Taiwan independence separatist forces.”
A spokesman for Downing Street told reporters that the UK has a “long-established trade relationship with Taiwan” that’s worth £8 billion a year.
“These are annual talks between the UK and the ministry of economic affairs in Taiwan, we have a vibrant, long-standing relationship on areas like trade and culture, and this will form part of that engagement,” he said.
Beijing insists Taiwan is part of the People’s Republic of China, while Taiwan operates as a sovereign country with its own government, legislature, and judicial systems independent of the communist regime in the mainland.