No sign of bilateral trade deal during top US official’s Taiwan visit
Top U.S. official Keith Krach has maintained a low profile during his three-day visit to Taiwan, but some have raised their eyebrows over the lack of mentions of a bilateral trade deal.
Krach, the under secretary for economic growth, energy, and the environment, is the highest-ranked official from the U.S. State Department to visit Taiwan.
Krach started his visit on Friday by discussing economic and trade issues with officials at Taiwan’s Executive Yuan and Ministry of Economic Affairs as well as representatives from the island’s business sector.
He then had a closed-door meeting with the island’s foreign minister, Joseph Wu, after which the ministry said Krach expressed the U.S. government’s support for a democratic Taiwan.
Premier Su Tseng-chang, who met Krach in the evening, said the U.S. is the most important trade partner of Taiwan, and he hoped for closer ties to develop between Washington and Taipei.
Krach also attended a dinner at the residence of President Tsai Ing-wen. The dinner, which lasted around 2.5 hours, took the format of a “kitchen cabinet,” an informal setting to allow the small delegation led by Krach to speak freely, sources told Apple Daily. Top national security, executive and economic officials were present, as was Morris Chang, founder of the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company.
Tsai’s office thanked Krach in a statement for passing on Washington’s support for a democratic Taiwan and said they exchanged opinions on deepening their cooperation. Tsai also praised Krach’s contributions to regional peace and stability and called the diplomat a “good friend and an old friend.”
However, there has so far been no mention of a bilateral trade agreement between the U.S. and Taiwan.
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