America in Taiwan: A New Beginning
In recent years, the United States has sought increased engagement with Taiwan across the political aisle. In the last few months, there have been multiple US weapon sales to Taiwan worth billions of USD. This approach by the US government has accelerated over recent years. America is continuing to engage with Taiwan and in the last two years has built a new American Institute in Taiwan building to demonstrate its commitment to engaging with the island. On the economic front, America has taken steps towards investing more in Taiwan with business in Taiwan worth billions of dollars.
The US-China trade war has meant that there are corporations who are leaving China and there are some who are relocating back to Taiwan. Taiwan can take full advantage of this change in policy. This has meant that Taiwan now has more advantages and opportunities to do business. The US and Taiwan have had a powerful relationship in computer hardware, but now the focus is on big data.
Google and Amazon are great examples of American companies investing overseas and in Taiwan. Amazon has recently opened up a joint innovation center in New Taipei City, signaling more to come. There are several reasons as to why people are considering Taiwan over other competitors. For example, rising costs in other economies have made Taiwan’s talented human resources even more attractive.
Large corporations are increasingly focusing on Taiwan. For example, both Google and IBM have set up Taiwanese research centers for AI-related research. Google plans to create private-public relationships that include graduates from highly ranked universities to train 5,000 AI professionals. They are looking for the best of the best and are ready to recruit in Taiwan.
At the same time, Microsoft is developing an AI research hub in Taiwan. This seems to be a new stage for businesses investing in Taiwan. Microsoft is investing millions of dollars to develop this initiative, as it continues to focus on Taiwan’s strengths in IT and hardware development. The company plans to make use of Taiwan’s graduates in mathematics, engineering and sciences. Microsoft is keen on benefiting from Taiwan’s expertise in AI technologies.
There has been a shift towards enhanced cooperation with Taiwan from many economies around the world. Many companies are seeking attractive investment destinations that align with their values. Taiwan fits that mold, which is why it has seen such success in the last few years.
