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Taipei, Mar 5 (EFE).- A United States governor held a meeting Tuesday in Taipei with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, a day after announcing the opening of a commercial office on the island.
Michigan state representative Gretchen Whitmer met the leader at the presidential palace in the capital.
“I’m excited to be here in Taipei with Minister Wu to announce Michigan’s first-ever Taiwan office! I’m looking forward to our continued partnership, supporting key industries and bringing jobs and investment back home to Michigan,” the democrat later wrote on X.
The governor, who had already traveled to the island in September last year, announced Monday the opening of a Michigan commercial office in Taiwan, a move that the Taiwanese president said would “further boost economic and commercial relations.” between both parties.
“Michigan’s automotive industry and semiconductor and microelectronics research can work closely with Taiwan’s semiconductor and electric vehicle supply chains to establish a secure supply chain,” Tsai said.
Michigan is one of the centers of the American automotive industry and many Taiwanese manufacturers have increased their investments in this state in recent years, according to a statement released by the territory’s presidential office.
Taiwan and Michigan signed a memorandum of understanding last year to strengthen cooperation between their industrial and academic sectors and deepen bilateral relations in areas such as semiconductors, electric vehicles and artificial intelligence.
Following her meeting with Tsai, Whitmer ended her two-day visit to Taiwan, which also included a meeting Monday with the island’s president-elect and current Vice President William Lai.
Visits by US representatives to Taiwan have been constant in the last two years and have continued even after the crisis between Beijing and Washington caused by the trip to Taipei in August 2022 of then House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, which angered China.
Taiwan – where the Chinese nationalist army withdrew after defeat at the hands of communist troops in the civil war – has been governed autonomously since 1949. But China claims sovereignty over the island, which it considers a rebellious province for whose reacquisition it has not ruled out the use of force. EFE
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