Taiwan’s special envoy Zhang Zhongmou interacted with Biden at the APEC summit | Blinken | The Epoch Times

[The Epoch Times, November 18, 2023](Comprehensive report by Epoch Times reporter Xia Yu) Taiwan’s Special Envoy to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Zhang Zhongmou said on Friday (November 17) that at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit (APEC) in San Francisco, he and the United States President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken had an informal interaction. He also met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

Taiwan does not send its president to the APEC forum, but instead sends representatives to the meeting.

Chang, the 92-year-old founder of chip giant TSMC, said, “My interaction with President Biden was social, in fact I can say it was humorous.”

He also spoke with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris during the APEC summit hosted by the United States. This was their second meeting after their conversation at the APEC meeting in Thailand last year.

Taiwan Presidential Office spokesman Huang Chongyan said that Chang had a conversation with US Vice President Harris Harris for about 20 minutes between two meetings on Thursday. Huang said they exchanged views on the overall economic environment and how to strengthen Taiwan-U.S. economic cooperation, hoping to contribute to the continued prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region.

Chang also met with White House National Economic Council Director Lael Brainard on Thursday to discuss economic relations between the United States and Taiwan.

Brainard previously served as vice chairman of the Federal Reserve, where he oversaw implementation of the CHIPS Act. The CHIPS Act includes $39 billion in subsidies for companies to build new facilities and expand operations in the United States, including TSMC, which is building two advanced chip factories in Arizona.

Zhang and Brainard met for about 40 minutes. Taiwanese officials attending the meeting included Representative to the United States Hsiao Meiqin, National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Xu Sijian, Executive Yuan political commissar Deng Zhenzhong, and Finance Minister Zhuang Cuiyun.

The Taiwan delegation said Chang spoke with Blinken at an APEC reception on Wednesday.

Zhang Zhongmou added, “My conversation with Secretary Blinken mainly expressed our strong desire for regional peace and prosperity, and to some extent our strong desire to enhance the resilience of the supply chain.”

He said his conversations with more than a dozen APEC leaders, including Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, focused on peace and economic development, supply chains and semiconductors.

During their meeting on Friday morning, Chang and Fumio Kishida continued to strengthen Taiwan-Japan relations. Both sides were happy to see bilateral industrial cooperation, including semiconductors, flourish and deepen their ties.

Kishida Fumio expressed support and encouragement for Taiwan to continue to participate in international organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

Taiwan and China are both members of APEC.

Editor in charge: Ye Ziwei#