Taiwan has sought trade talks with India for several years, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has been reluctant to go ahead because it would involve a disorderly fight with China once any pact is registered with the World Trade Organization, according to a senior Indian government official. who asked not to be identified, citing rules for speaking to the media.
However, in recent months, hawks in India wanting to start trade talks are gaining ground, the official said. A trade deal with Taiwan would help India’s goal of seeking increased investments in technology and electronics, the official said, adding that it is unclear when a final decision will be made on whether to start talks.
Earlier this month, the Modi government gave its go-ahead to companies such as Taiwan’s Foxconn Technology Group, Wistron Corp, and Pegatron Corp, as it seeks to attract investments worth more than Rs 10.5 lakh crore ($ 143 billion) for the smartphone production for five years.
Indian Commerce Ministry spokesman Yogesh Baweja did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment. Taiwan’s top trade negotiator, John Deng, did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment.
Any formal conversation with India would amount to a major victory for Taiwan, which has struggled to start trade negotiations with most major economies due to pressure from China. Like most countries, India does not formally recognize Taiwan, and the two governments maintain unofficial diplomatic missions in the form of “representative offices.”
India and Taiwan signed an updated bilateral investment agreement in 2018 in a bid to further expand economic ties. Trade between them grew 18% to $ 7.2 billion in 2019, according to India’s trade department.
‘Country’ fight
The administration of President Tsai Ing-wen has raised its profile in India in recent weeks after China issued a statement telling the Indian media not to refer to Taiwan as a country when reporting on the National Day celebrations on October 10. Twitter users in India lashed out at China and its ambassador in New Delhi, Sun Weidong, while praising Taiwan and making the hashtag #TaiwanNationalDay go viral.
Indian public sentiment towards China has fallen in the wake of the deadly border clashes between the two neighbors since May. Since then, the Modi government has banned dozens of Chinese apps, including TikTok, and has also spoken with Japan, Australia and the US about creating alternative supply chains to diversify outside of China in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. . India has seen more than 7.5 million infections and 115,000 deaths from Covid-19.
That discontent with China, as well as Taiwan’s successful handling of the pandemic, is translating into an opportunity for soft power for Tsai. Taiwan’s 24 million have suffered fewer than 600 infections and only seven deaths.
“We have to think about the way for democracies, for like-minded countries, to work more together,” Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said during an interview last week on India Today television. “We have good traditional relations with the United States, with Japan, and we also want to develop closer ties with India.”
Tsai, who was voted in for a second term in a landslide in January, has tried to capitalize on the wave of interest in Taiwan among Indians online. On October 11, he thanked Indian Twitter users who sent greetings for the national day. Two days later she went viral again, posting photos of her visiting the Taj Mahal.
On October 15, Tsai tweeted a photo of Indian food accompanied by a cup of masala chai, which some Twitter users saw as a possible reference to the so-called Milk Tea Alliance that has brought together activists from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand and others. places against Chinese Nationalism. The three tweets received more than 40,000 likes each and thousands of friendly messages from Indian accounts.
# Taiwan is fortunate to host many Indian restaurants, and Taiwanese people adore them. I always go for chana masala… https://t.co/BqDk9C6LvU
– 蔡英文 Tsai Ing-wen (@iingwen) 1602739005000
The Communist Party of China, which claims Taiwan as its territory despite never ruling it, has rejected the Tsai administration’s proposals to India.
“We urge the relevant Indian media to adhere to the correct position regarding the important core interests of China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” said Ji Rong, spokesman for the Chinese embassy in New Delhi, in a statement on Friday. The Indian media, Ji continued, “should not provide a platform for the ‘Taiwan independence’ forces to avoid sending the wrong message.”
Sana Hashmi, a fellow at Taipei National Chengchi University and author of “China’s Approach to Land Disputes: Lessons and Prospects,” said it makes sense for India to align itself economically with Taiwan.
“There seems to be growing awareness not only among Indians but even in other nations about how China has dictated relations in the region,” said Hashmi, who has written opinion pieces in Taiwanese and Indian media encouraging closer ties between the nations. two democracies. “And it’s not like China is going to grant concessions to India or Taiwan for following their line.”
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