TECO_Taipei_c_Koran_c_2_Taiwan.qxd
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T A I W A N b u s i n e s s l services l production support
The Czech-Taiwan Economic Relations
and the Role of the Czech Economic
and Cultural Office in Taipei
The domestic economy is largely open and exports
and external economic links are crucial for the Czech
Republic. However, the Czech economy is increasingly
dependent on the European Union and on automotive
exports, despite the Czech government's attempt
to diversify the Czech Republic's trade with a larger
accent on non-European countries. The export
of vehicles and their parts grows by double digits,
much faster than the export of other goods.
Approximately 82,010 units are destined for Europe
and almost a third of the exports go to Germany alone.
Asia is the second most important region
for trade with the Czech Republic. Trade
with Asia accounts for a little over 13% of
the total export figure, which is a significant factor for the development of a business strategy and other forms of support
provided to Czech exporters in the coming years. The strengthening of economic diplomacy and the development of
projects in the field of trade, investment
and science and research in Asia is therefore crucial.
The role
of Czech embassies abroad
Especially in distant markets (such as
Asia), the role of embassies is irreplaceable. In addition to public and cultural diplomacy, the embassies also promote economic diplomacy, which plays a crucial role
special 1/2017 T+T T e c h n i k a a t r h
in supporting Czech economic interests in
the world and in securing sales of Czech
products particularly outside Europe.
Economic partnership
Taiwan ranks 8th in the list of the most important business partner for the Czech Republic in Asian countries with a total balance of $ 1.14bn. Countries such as
Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia, Hong
Kong and the Philippines ranked significantly lower. Despite the fact that Czech
export to China, one of the prime areas of
economic diplomacy, increased last year,
the trade balance continues to be notably
passive. Exports to Asia include not only
China, but also the three countries of Japan, the Republic of Korea and Taiwan,
totalling $ 1.56 billion (CZK 38.5 billion) (source: ČSÚ, 2016).
However, a more interesting table is that
of the current trend and direction of trading, i.e. the Czech export statistics. These
statistics confirm the increasing interest
and preferences on the side of Czech
companies. Czech exports to Taiwan decreased slightly last year, partly due to the
restarting of the Taiwanese economy,
which was revitalized only in the fourth
quarter of 2016. Taiwan therefore ranked
10th out of a total of 49 Asian countries.
However, in the region of Eastern and
Southeast Asia, Taiwan ranks 7th. The
items most frequently exported to Taiwan
in 2016 were production and transport
machines, industrial consumer goods and
market products sorted mainly by material (source: ČSÚ, 2016).
At the same time, Taiwan is an important
source of investment in the Czech Republic, which reached EUR 104.54 million last
year and since 2003 has generated up to
24.5 thousand new jobs. Last year, existing investments in the Czech Republic by
Inventec and Foxconn (source: fDi Report_Taiwan to CR and CzechInvest
2016) increased significantly. Foxconn is
one of the largest foreign investors in the
Czech Republic and one of the Czech Republic's largest exporters - (source: CzechTop100).
From the above it follows that the Czech
Republic is an important trading partner
of Taiwan in the region of Central and Eastern Europe, in terms of its strategic geographical location, a stable economy, fa-