Taiwan delegation looks to build tech ties with Latvia, Lithuania amid China tensions

A six-person delegation from Taipei is exchanging ideas this week with education and technology officials from the two Baltic states

Analyst says Taiwan is trying to expand international influence in terms of technology by helping small or developing countries

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Taiwan is using its reputation as tech powerhouse to expand its international influence. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 7:00pm, 27 Oct 2022Updated: 4:07pm, 3 Nov 2022

A delegation from Taiwan - a global manufacturer of IT components - is visiting Latvia and Lithuania this week to discuss technology cooperation amid rising tensions with China.

Lin Minn-tsong, the deputy minister of the island’s National Science and Technology Council, attended a conference in Latvia’s capital Riga with officials from the two Baltic states, part of a five-day trip that ends Friday.

Taiwan has gained attention in Europe this year as it produces 60 per cent of the world’s semiconductors, which power electronic devices, from phones to cars. The components fell into short supply in the first two years of the pandemic.

Taiwan’s tech prowess gives it an opening to improve relations abroad, experts say. Many European countries need the chips and other tech hardware that Taiwan produces.

Relations between Beijing and the Baltic nations have become tense in recent years. China downgraded diplomatic ties with Lithuania last year as tensions flared over the country’s closer relations with Taiwan, which the Chinese government regards as a breakaway province that must be reunited with the mainland.

Latvia and Estonia have joined Lithuania in quitting the cooperation group between China and the central and east European countries known as the 17+1 platform.

The six-person delegation from Taipei is exchanging ideas this week with education and technology officials from the two Baltic states about “tech policy” and “key points for future cooperation”, the Council said in a statement. The delegates visited Latvia on Monday and Tuesday, with Lithuania on their agenda for the rest of the week.