President Lai Ching-te received North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein at the Presidential Office Oct. 31 in Taipei City and reiterated commitment to expanding mutually beneficial cooperation with the U.S. state.
According to the PO, Lai welcomed Stein and said he is the first North Carolina governor to visit Taiwan in 25 years, adding that the visit shows that bilateral ties are rising to new levels. He praised the state for its highly skilled workforce and friendly investment environment, adding that it is also home to the Research Triangle Park, the largest research-focused science park in the U.S.
The president said the RTP’s main industries include information technology, automobile manufacturing and biomedicine and pharmaceuticals, sectors in which Taiwan also shines. Expanded bilateral cooperation, especially in artificial intelligence, biotechnology and electric vehicles, will undoubtedly help bolster Taiwan-U.S. economic and trade exchanges and advance welfare for all, he added.
Lai also thanked the state government for its August approval of the inclusion of Taiwan’s Test of Chinese as a Foreign Language in the state’s Seal of Biliteracy framework, and the General Assembly for passing resolutions for five consecutive years supporting Taiwan’s international participation and encouraging negotiations on a Taiwan-U.S. trade agreement.
While recent U.S. tariff policies pose challenges to the global economic order, they also create new opportunities for Taiwan-U.S. cooperation, the president said, adding that he looks forward to reciprocal tariff negotiations yielding timely and mutually beneficial results.
Stein expressed his concern for those impacted by Typhoon Ragasa and his condolences to the families who lost loved ones. He said a similarly devastating storm hit North Carolina one year ago, adding that the state was grateful for Taiwan’s generous contribution to North Carolina in their time of need.
The governor said he was deeply impressed by Taiwan’s incredible energy and spirit of innovation. Citing a strong overlap between North Carolina’s economy and Taiwan’s Five Trusted Industry Sectors, the governor said he looks forward to growing commercial ties with Taiwan to bring people in both nations closer together. (SFC-E)
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