The EU included Taiwan on its list of trade partners for a potential bilateral investment agreement in 2015 – the year before Tsai took office – but has not held talks with Taipei on the issue since.

The EU in September pledged to seek a trade deal with Taiwan, part of its formal strategy to boost its presence in the Indo-Pacific and counter Beijing’s rising power.

Speaking to a group of visiting French parliamentarians at her office in Taipei, Tsai noted that France would assume the EU’s rotating presidency next year.

“We hope the EU, under the leadership of France, can continue to promote Taiwan and the EU’s negotiation of a bilateral investment agreement, or BIA, to open a new cooperative relationship between Taiwan and the EU,” she said.

During her meeting with the group, led by France-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group head François de Rugy, Tsai did not directly mention Beijing, but called on democracies to stick together.

Timeline: Taiwan’s relations with mainland China under Tsai Ing-wen

“In the face of a rapidly changing international situation and the continued spread of authoritarianism, democratic partners should even more join hands together in cooperation,” she said.

“Taiwan will fulfil its international responsibilities and looks forward to working with France and EU partners with similar ideals to make more contributions to the peace and stability of the Indo-Pacific region.”

The French trip comes as Beijing is involved in an increasingly ugly row with EU member state Lithuania about the Baltic state’s decision to allow Taiwan to open a de facto embassy there.

Lithuania’s diplomatic delegation to Beijing left the country on Wednesday in a hastily arranged exit in a further souring of relations.