Taiwan and the European Union on Tuesday co-hosted their first joint event to promote economic ties amid warming relations between the two.

Enterprises from both sides would have vast opportunities for co-operation as Taiwan shared many common values with the EU, such as freedom, democracy and rule of law, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said at the EU Investment Forum held in Taipei.

Tsai also expressed hopes of negotiating a bilateral investment agreement to move their partnership forward.

The forum was co-organized by Taiwan’s foreign and economic affairs ministries; the European economic and trade office, which is the EU’s representative in Taipei; and 15 EU member states.

Europe could join forces with Taiwan to deal with global economic changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the trade war between the United States and China, head of the European office Filip Grzegorzewski told the forum.

Taiwanese businesses were welcomed to invest in European firms and benefit from a free and open market with a population of 450 million, Grzegorzewski added.

The EU would continue to play an important role in global trade and geopolitics given its high consumption power, wealth of quality talent and advanced innovative technologies, EU Parliament international trade commission deputy chairperson Iuliu Winkler told the forum through a video link.

Taiwan posted a 10.5% increase in foreign direct investment for the first seven months of the year. Global FDI was projected to plunge up to 40% for the full year due to COVID-19, according to the United Nations' World Investment Report.

The EU is the biggest investor into Taiwan, with FDI totalling more than USD 32 billion, accounting for over 25 per cent of all FDI into Taiwan.

On Monday, EU diplomats and parliament members threw their support behind Taiwan during a meeting with mainland Chinese diplomats, saying Beijing’s military threats to the island could affect the European stance on the “one China” policy. The European politicians also said the EU bloc was strengthening co-operation with Taiwan in a wide range of areas.

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