It is unrealistic for Taiwan to completely decouple from China, the self-ruled island's largest trading partner, Taiwan's Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Chen Chern-chyi said on Wednesday, despite growing tensions between Beijing and Taipei.
Chen said China is the world's largest manufacturing power, the world's largest trading country, and Taiwan's largest trading partner.
"With those facts, I don't see, frankly, in the near term we can completely decouple from China. That's not realistic," he said in English during the question-and-answer session of a briefing with foreign correspondents.
Official statistics showed that 42.3 percent of Taiwan's exports went to China and Hong Kong last year, amounting to $188.87 billion.
Chen said while the government is happy to see Taiwanese companies working with their Chinese counterparts for business activities, measures are needed to safeguard the island's national security.
"So for export control, our products cannot be used in the Chinese military," and this policy will continue to be implemented "very firmly," he said.
Since China conducted large-scale military exercises surrounding Taiwan in the wake of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's high-profile visit in August, some saw it as potential evidence of the mainland's intent to pursue a future blockade or amphibious invasion.
Chen said Taiwan has "a long experience of Chinese sanctions" and that other countries in the region have similarly experienced China's "undeclared, hidden grey-zone sanctions."
Therefore, the Taiwan government must plan ahead, including taking monthly inventories of essential supplies, such as food, energy, critical minerals and chemicals, he said.
On the supply of power and energy, Chen said because the Taiwan Power Company is a state-owned enterprise and CPC Corp. is a state-owned petroleum, natural gas and gasoline company, "they will do what the law requires."
While the government policy is to scale up renewable energies, Chen said it will take some time to achieve the ultimate goal.
Overall, Chen said he remains "very comfortable with respect to these possible security issues."
China and Taiwan have been governed separately since they split in 1949 due to a civil war. Beijing regards the democratic island as a renegade province to be reunified with the mainland, by force if necessary.
