Trade ties up as Taipei looks ‘south’

The Star
Date: 17 Sep 2017
By: tho xin yi

SINCE Tsai Ing-wen became Taiwan president in May last year, Taipei’s ties with mainland China have strained due to her insistence that Taiwan is not an integral part of China.

Beijing has made known it cannot tolerate rhetoric that challenges its uncompromising “One China” policy.

Amid the simmering tension between Beijing and Taipei, as well as rising international isolation of Taiwan due to China’s rise, Malaysia has unexpectedly become one of the beneficiaries in trade and investments.

Investments from Taiwan into Malaysia had declined in recent years on the back of China’s emergence. But developments this year are uplifting for Kuala Lumpur, with bilateral trade and tourism data recording substantial growth in the first half of this year.    [FULL  STORY]