The recent US technology curbs imposed on China have “increased the uncertainty of the market,” Finance Minister Su Jain-Rong said in an interview on Friday, after the APEC finance ministers’ meetings in Bangkok. He added that one of Taiwan’s goals is to “try to diversify our trade partners, our trade market, so that we are not going to put all our eggs in one basket.”
Escalating US-China tensions have further clouded Taiwan’s outlook and rattled the global semiconductor industry. After the US announced tighter controls over chip exports to China this month, shares in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. fell the most in 28 years. The Taiwanese firm makes chips for major companies that rely on the Chinese market for much of their business, while also taking in about 10 percent of its own revenue from China-based customers.
Taiwan has been looking to diminish its dependence on China in recent years, and has explored ways to bolster trade and investment with Southeast Asia, India, Australia and New Zealand. Taipei last year asked to join one of the Asia-Pacific’s biggest working trade deals, though its application is still pending.