U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State David Meale commended Taiwan’s trade and economic development in recent years, and said that Taiwan is a indispensably important partner of the U.S.

Deputy Assistant Secretary Meale listed interaction, innovation, intellectual property rights protection, and investments as the key factors in maintaining close economic and trade collaborations between Taiwan and the U.S.

In terms of interaction, Taiwan’s participation in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and the World Trade Organization would help raise its international status, adding that the two sides have much potential in furthering partnerships in the Asia Pacific region.

In addition, Deputy Assistant Secretary Meale also commended Taiwan’s innovative capacity, which has expanded beyond technology to include breakthroughs in new business models.

Thirdly, Deputy Assistant Secretary Meale affirmed Taiwan’s commitments towards intellectual property rights protection, in particular in the areas of countering digital piracy, protection of trade secrets and the establishment of a patent linkage mechanism and added that these efforts are in line with the U.S. trade policy priorities.

Lastly, Deputy Assistant Secretary Meale said that Taiwan in the past year has made tremendous progress in improving its investment environment and hopes that Taiwan would continue to play a proactive role in the ‘Select USA ‘program.

【2019-4-10 The Central News Agency】