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6 Facts About Economy Of Taiwan, Latest US-China Flashpoint
04 Aug 2022, 12:40 PM IST 
China is Taiwan's biggest trading partner: 6 Facts
- Taiwan is a major trading nation with a healthy trade surplus. In the first half of 2022, Taiwan's exports amounted to $246.7 billion, while imports totalled $219.0 billion. The trade surplus stood at $27.7 billion.
- Interestingly, China (People's Republic of China) which claims Taiwan as part of its territory, is the biggest trading partner of Taiwan. Exports to Mainland China are 40 per cent of total exports. Imports from China are one-fifth of the total imports of Taiwan. ASEAN, Japan and the US are Taiwan's other major trading partners.
- Electronic products comprise well over half of Taiwan's trade. The self-ruled island is particularly known for its semiconductors, a key component for machines. Moreover, Taiwan is one of the leading producers of functional and technical textiles.
- Taiwan's economy is dominated by the services sector, which comprises over 60 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The industrial sector is over 36 per cent of the GDP, while agriculture constitutes less than two per cent of the economy, as per 2020 government estimates.
- Taiwan holds one of the largest forex reserves in the world. As of May 2022, it held nearly $548 billion in forex reserves - the sixth largest. Its forex reserves are more than that of larger economies like Germany, the UK and France.
- Unprecedented economic growth between the 1960s and 1990s gave Taiwan the Asian Tigers title. This was possible due to extensive land reforms, US aid and export-oriented industrial development, among other factors. Per some estimates, the Taiwanese economy grew by 8.7 per cent on average between 1960 and 1994.
