While some of those travelling are members of the committee – Glucksmann is its chair – others are not. Some committee members declined invitations to join the delegation, while others who have previously expressed support for Taiwan are joining a delegation to the US instead.
In a statement addressing the upcoming trip, the Chinese mission to the EU said that the one-China principle was the “political foundation for the establishment and development of Sino-European relations”. Taiwan’s deputy foreign minister Harry Tseng , shown greeting a French delegation at the airport in Taoyuan on October 6, is scheduled to host a dinner for the EU delegation next week. Photo: AFPthat the main impediment to talks was the EU’s investment pact with China, the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment – debate on which is currently stalled after Beijing imposed sanctions on some MEPs.
“There is no economic interest in having an investment agreement with Taiwan,” said Miriam Garcia Ferrer, a spokeswoman in the EU‘s directorate-general for trade office. Reinhard Buetikofer, head of the European Parliament’s China delegation, said the EU has a “strong interest” in strengthening supply chain ties to Taiwan. Photo: AFP
Alicia Garcia Herrero, chief economist for Asia Pacific at Natixis, added that while “there are growing economic ties between Taiwan and the EU due to the growing importance of semiconductors but also Taiwan’s goals to transition to green”, any talk of a bilateral investment deal would be “totally political”.