Taiwan welcomes business alliance with Japan: VP

Vice President Vincent Siew said Friday that Taiwan welcomes the development of a strategic business alliance with Japan to establish a global business network.

Siew made the remarks during a meeting at the Presidential Office with Yorihiko Kojima, president of Japan's Mitsubishi Corp., the largest Japanese general trading company with over 200 bases of operations in approximately 80 countries worldwide. The company's Taiwan operation has 126 employees.

"Now is the best time for Japan to invest in Taiwan, which, with advantage of location and a more relaxed investment environment, can serve as a launch pad for Japan in seeking market expansion in Southeast Asia and China," Siew told his guest.

He emphasized that after lifting a string of restrictions, Taiwan and China will have more frequent trade contact and a more flexible platform for negotiations on logistics and personnel exchanges.

He noted that Japan has always been Taiwan's largest source of imports and the country's second-largest trade partner.

He continued that the reason Taiwan continues to seek closer cooperation with Japan despite decades of trade deficit is that it is hopeful of forming a bilateral strategic business alliance.

Kojima told Siew that he is well aware of Taiwan's importance in terms of business strategy and will promote bilateral or multilateral cooperation to help expand the two countries' business market.