Taiwan assures EU it'll remain trusted partner in global chip industry

The relationship between the EU and Taiwan just got a little warmer, with Taiwan saying it will continue to be a trusted partner for the global chip industry, and help stabilize the global supply chain.

The news is coming from Taiwan Economy Minister Wang Mei-hua, who spoke with a senior European Union official are "rare high-level talks" on Thursday, according to Reuters, that Taipei described as a "big breakthrough". The difference between other meetings and now is that the Taiwan-EU meetings have shifted from the deputy level -- at previous meetings -- to a ministerial level, the ministry calling this a "major breakthrough in Taiwan-EU relations".

This is a continued push from the EU, which kicked off its "European Chips Act" in February 2022 -- at the time mentioning TSMC and other semiconductor companies -- with Taiwan being one of the "like-minded partners" that Europe wants to work with.

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Wang's ministry focused on areas like semiconductor cooperation, and I'm sure much more, with the director-general for trade at the European Commission, Sabine Weyand. The ministry said that Wang emphasized: "Taiwan will continue to be a trusted partner of the global semiconductor industry and help stabilise supply chain resilience".