‘Chi trying to block our investments in India’

Taipei, Feb 23: Chi is trying to block Taiwan from diversifying its foreign direct investments, including to India, because Beijing wants the East Asian island tion’s investments to be restricted to mainland Chi, a Taiwanese minister has said. The self-ruled island tion is seeking to diversify its investments under a new foreign policy billed as “New Southbound Policy” that seeks to engage more closely with 18 Asia-Pacific countries, including India.

“Beijing will try to block our New Southbound Policy only because they will like to see Taiwanese investments to go to mainland Chi and not to diversify our outgoing investments,” Taiwan’s First Deputy Minister for Mainland Affairs Council Cheng-yi Lin said in response to a question by IANS during an interaction with a group of jourlists here on Wednesday.

“Our relationship with mainland Chi and our New Southbound Policy are equally important for Taiwan and we are not competing with the PRC (People’s Republic of Chi),” Lin stated. The 18 countries with which Taiwan seeks to have closer investment ties include India and five other South Asian tions, the 10 member-states of the Association of Southeast Asian tions (Asean), and Australia and New Zealand.

The policy was adopted after President Tsai Ing-wen of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) assumed power in 2016. (IANS)