Czech Republic as a reliable trade partner to Taiwan

8 TAIWAN Business.EU l company profiles Czech Republic as a Reliable Trade Partner to Taiwan Many people question whether the Czech Republic is attractive enough or big enough to expand its foreign trade relations, especially outside of the European Union (EU). This topic definitely deserves an extensive discussion but let´s point out a few important facts about the Czech Republic and try to understand what it has to offer in terms of trade and investment with a special focus on Taiwan. The Czech Republic is a parliamentary democracy and one of the most advanced Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries with a consistent and predictable economic environment. As a member of the EU, with an advantageous location in the centre of Europe, a relatively low cost structure, and a well-qualified labour force, the Czech Republic is an attractive destination for foreign investment. An open investment climate is a key element of the Czech Republic’s economy. Following a strong 2017, Czech real GDP growth will remain on a healthy trajectory, but decelerate over the next two years as the labour market nears full employment and external demand weakens. A landlocked central European nation that shares its western border with economic powerhouse Germany, the Czech Republic shipped US $180.2 billion worth of goods around the globe in 2017. That dollar amount represents an 11.1 % increase from 2016 to 2017. However, most of its special 2018 export (84 %) was delivered within the EU, Germany remaining the top export destination. Smaller percentages were exported to Asia (14 %), North America (1.4 %) and Africa (0.6 %). Among those, Taiwan accounted for 0.1 % when it comes to Czech export, 0.6 % of Taiwanese import and overall trade with Taiwan represented 0.37 % in 2017. Therefore, there is clearly still some room for an improvement on both sides. The Czech Republic appreciates so-far economic cooperation with Taiwan especially with regard to Taiwanese investments. Taiwanese investments account for US $1,071 million with 31 projects and a creation of 16.000 jobs in the Czech Republic. Among the biggest Taiwanese investors, we can see Foxconn followed by for example Gemtek, Asus, Wistron, BenQ or Acer. The future cooperation between the Czech Republic and Taiwan can be explored in the following sectors as well: Taiwan Priority Sectors Smart machinery Asia Silicon Walley Biotechnology Green energy Smart agriculture Circular economy Czech Republic know-how Aerospace Infrastracture Smart cities ICT R&D Health industry Czech Economic and Cultural Office (CECO) is the only Czech representative institution in Taiwan. CECO is set to help Czech businesses to expand their trade activities to Taiwan as well as to attract Taiwanese investors to the Czech Republic. Our office organizes several trade and investment events throughout the year - business delegations to/from the Czech Republic, investment seminars, trade fairs etc. CECO is also acting as a mediator between Czech and Taiwanese (both) business and public sphere when exploring new areas for economic cooperation. Shall you have any question or inquiry concerning trade issues, please, contact us on commerce_taipei@mzv.cz