U.S. President Donald Trump and Foxconn Chairman Terry Gou

Racine, Wisconsin, June 28 (CNA) United States President Donald Trump on Thursday attended the groundbreaking ceremony for a factory that will be built by Foxconn Technology Group and he lauded the Taiwan company's chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘) as "one of the most successful" businessmen in the world.

Referring to Gou as "a friend of mine," Trump thanked the chairman for his decision to invest in Wisconsin and also touted his own role in the US$10 billion Foxconn investment in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin.

"And I want to be thanking Terry Gou, chairman of Foxconn and a friend of mine. One of the most successful businessmen in the world. And I want to thank him for investing in Wisconsin and investing in the United States."

Trump also related how the deal came about.

"So I had this incredible company going to invest someplace in the world -- not here necessarily," Trump said. "And I will tell you they wouldn't have done it here, except that I became president, so that's good. But they wanted to do it someplace now in the United States and I immediately thought of the state of Wisconsin."

Trump said it was a project of great magnitude and that it was just the beginning of other such job-creation projects in the U.S.

Foxconn, the world's largest electronics manufacturer which assembles iPhones and iPads for Apple, is building a flat panel plant and other facilities in Wisconsin, which are expected to create 13,000 jobs.

Echoing Trump's remarks, Gou said that he invests in many businesses around the world but had it not been for Trump, he would not have invested in Wisconsin.

"President Trump is one of few leaders who have shown me such passion, attention and support," Gou said. "His commitment and execution is truly one of the best."

Gou said the Foxconn plant will create high value in the Badger State.

"We will build a 'Wisconsin Valley' here," Gou said. "It is not just jobs but high-tech jobs, high paying jobs, high potential jobs and high value jobs."

It was the second time that Trump and Gou were sharing a stage since they stuck a deal in July 2017 as part of Trump's efforts to bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S.

(By Rita Cheng and Flor Wang)
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