TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — European nations should bolster relations with Taiwan if they are interested in attracting Taiwanese chip investments, Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said last week during a visit to Europe, Reuters reported.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) has been considering expanding its international footprint to Germany. No final decision has been made at this point, and any move would need approval from the Taiwanese government.
Wu added that Taipei was not placing any conditions on TSMC investment in Europe, and it is up to the company to decide if a European fab would be viable, per Reuters. Wu said the government would not block investment, but there was a “philosophical issue.”
“That philosophical issue is that when a country is in shortage of computer chips, they will (tell) Taiwan, ‘you should do this, and you should do that’ — but they don’t seem to be thinking about a broader picture of better relations with Taiwan, economic or otherwise,” Wu said, according to Politico.
“Even though we are not selfish in stopping TSMC making investment in other countries, we certainly hope that other countries who want to attract TSMC... can also think about the situation Taiwan is in,” Reuters cited Wu as saying.
Meanwhile, Wu welcomed repeated calls from the EU for China to maintain the status quo in the Taiwan Strait, Politico said.
He also said the EU should consider more cooperation with Taiwan, including a bilateral investment agreement (BIA), according to Reuters. The bloc included Taiwan on a list of possible BIA partners in 2015 but has not held negotiations with Taiwan on a trade deal since, per Reuters.
Taiwanese officials asked not to disclose the country where the interview with Wu was conducted. Wu is currently on a European tour and has already visited the Czech Republic, Poland, Belgium, and Italy.