Taiwan, EU eye deeper cooperation on security, semiconductors

Taipei, May 29 (CNA) President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) and the European Union's representative, Lutz Güllner, pledged Thursday to deepen cooperation on semiconductor supply chains and security amid growing global challenges.

Speaking at a gala hosted by the European Chamber of Commerce Taiwan (ECCT), Lai said Taiwan will continue working to strengthen economic ties with European partners and "jointly build resilient, promising and non-red supply chains" for semiconductors.

The president warned against threats from authoritarian regimes trying to dominate global semiconductor and critical technology markets through non-market practices, resource monopolies and price subsidies.

Besides expanding economic ties, Lai said Taiwan is also eager to collaborate with democratic partners to safeguard freedom, democracy and regional peace while strengthening its own defense capabilities and resilience.

Güllner, who heads the European Economic and Trade Office in Taiwan (EETO), echoed the need for closer cooperation between Taiwan and the EU in "building stronger, resilient, innovation-driven and secure supply chains."

Bilateral cooperation should extend beyond economic matters, Güllner said, highlighting growing alignment between the EU's security priorities and Taiwan's, and emphasizing the opportunity for both to jointly address hybrid threats and strengthen civil defense.

"We should work together also in those areas to counter cyberattacks, disinformation or foreign information manipulation, economic coercion; and we need to protect our critical infrastructure," the EU envoy said.

"This is not just between the administrations," he said, noting that "we need to have private sector and business involvement in this [cooperation]."

The gala was attended by hundreds of guests, including senior Taiwanese government officials and heads of foreign representative offices in Taipei, according to the ECCT, which represents the interests of some 450 European companies operating in Taiwan.