Consumer China

China-Taiwan: A new phase in commercial ties

  • Published 12 Aug 2010

Warming cross-straits ties and easing restrictions mean the future for Taiwan may be more about tapping Chinese consumer demand than with using the mainland as a manufacturing hub.

Taiwan companies were among the first to invest in mainland China when conditions permitted at the start of the "reform and opening" era three decades ago. Indeed, much of the early success of the Pearl and Yangtze river deltas as manufacturing hubs was driven by Taiwanese capital, technology and expertise. But now, even as those manufacturers grapple with a tide of rising costs, the nature of the opportunity that the mainland presents to Taiwan companies is changing. Warming cross-straits relations and easing restrictions on mainland-focused Taiwanese retailers mean that the future may be involved more with tapping Chinese consumer demand than with using the mainland as a manufacturing base for the world.

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