Taipei [Taiwan], November 13: President Lai Ching-te on Thursday called on Taiwan's representative to this year's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit to convey the island country's commitment to regional economic cooperation and its role in the global technology supply chain.
Lai appointed Acer founder and honorary chairman Stan Shih to represent Taiwan at the APEC summit in Shenzhen, China, next week.
Shih, 81, previously represented Taiwan at APEC in 2007.
Lai said that, amid challenges to the global economy posed by geopolitical tensions, energy issues and supply chain restructuring, Taiwan will continue to serve as a stable and trusted force in the Asia-Pacific region.
At a news conference in Taipei, Lai said that APEC is the most important multilateral mechanism for economic and trade cooperation in the region, where all members engage and interact on an equalfooting.
"Taiwan is participating in this year's APEC meeting based on the same principle."
He expected Shih to convey some key messages to APEC leaders, stressing that Taiwan, as an APEC member, had consistently participated actively in the forum and made contributions.
"This not only serves to protect Taiwan's own economic interests but also allows Taiwan to contribute its perspectives and experience to the global economy and make its voice heard internationally," Lai said.
He added that Taiwan would continue to promote global technological cooperation and innovation exchanges through the APEC platform, while actively building a resilient and reliable artificial intelligence (AI) technology supply chain.
Shih said AI was a key topic of discussion at this year's APEC meeting and that Taiwan has a solid foundation and extensive experience in semiconductors, digital technology and the AI supply chain.
"As an indispensable partner in global AI cooperation, Taiwan can play a stable and reliable role,"Shih said.
US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are also expected to attend the summit.
In an unusual departure from established practice, Taiwan did not receive an official invitation to the meeting but was instead contacted by email.
Shih said he intended to make full use of the opportunity to engage with leaders at the summit.
Lai noted that Shih had long promoted business leadership among younger generations and was therefore well suited to represent Taiwan.
Taiwan has been governed independently since 1949. China considers the democratically governed island part of its territory and has not ruled out using force to bring it under its control.
Source: Qatar Tribune
