China's share of Taiwan's exports drops over 12 percentage points from peak

Taipei, Jan. 18 (CNA) The proportion of Taiwan's exports directed to China, including Hong Kong, declined by more than 12 percentage points in 2024 compared with its peak in 2020, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) reported.

The decrease reflects the ongoing restructuring of global supply chains, driven by escalating trade tensions between Beijing and Washington.

Data compiled by the MOF showed China and Hong Kong accounted for 31.7 percent of Taiwan's total outbound sales in 2024, a fall of 12.2 percentage points from a high of 43.9 percent in 2020.

In addition to increasing trade conflicts between China and the United States, the MOF said, the decline reflected a weakening Chinese economy caused by a fragile property home market and falling domestic demand.

The MOF said a fall in exports to China also came as the Chinese government intensified efforts to push for the "Made in China 2025" initiative to replace imported goods with those made domestically.

The reduction in exports in 2024 was largely made up of petrochemical, base metal and machine tool suppliers due to a supply glut in the Chinese market, the MOF said.

Taiwan's exports of traditional electronic components to China, such as printed circuit boards and diodes, also declined in 2024 compared to 2020, according to the MOF.

In contrast, sales of high-end integrated circuits and graphics processing unit cards, which are used in artificial intelligence applications, increased over the same period.

As exports to China fall, Taiwan has forged closer ties with the U.S. and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc to diversify their markets and reduce dependence on China, the MOF said.

Taiwan's exports to the U.S. surged 120 percent in 2024 compared to 2020, reaching US$111.4 billion, the MOF reported.

The growth was primarily driven by computer electronics -- including servers and graphics cards -- which rose 640 percent and semiconductors, which increased 360 percent in that period.

Exports to the U.S. comprised 23.4 percent of Taiwan's total in 2024, up from 14.6 percent in 2020, according to the MOF.

Exports to ASEAN made up 18.5 percent, up 3.1 percentage points from 15.4 percent in 2020, largely due to an increase in sales of computers and related products, as well as semiconductors, the MOF said.