said in a statement that it aimed to bolster the island’s economy by promoting trade of its agricultural products and helping small and medium-sized enterprises expand to US markets. Taipei also wants to increase international investor confidence in Taiwan and allow the island to “attract funds and technologies from the US and the world”.
The US-Taiwan trade initiative was announced weeks after President Joe Biden launched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework in, a deal designed to counter China’s influence in the region that didn’t feature Taipei despite more than 50 senators urging Biden to include the island. The US expects Chinese “military intimidation and coercive economic tactics” around Taiwan to continue, State Department spokesman Ned Price said at a Wednesday briefing.
China has called on the US to refrain from sailing naval vessels through the Taiwan Strait, saying Beijing would take further action in the wake of Pelosi’s trip. The US has long held that visits such as ones by members of congress are consistent with its “one China” policy to not formally recognize the democratically elected government in Taipei.