President 
Lai Ching-te received a delegation led by Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer at the Presidential Office on September 17, Taiwan's Central News Agency (CNA) reported. Lai said he hoped for an early Taiwan-US agreement on avoiding double taxation and for more industrial cooperation on drones, an industry Taiwan is actively developing. In a Presidential Office news release carried by CNA, Lai said it was the third time in three years that Whitmer had led a delegation to Taiwan, which he said fully showed the importance she attached to Taiwan.
What did the president ask for? In the same release, Lai said he hoped an early double-taxation agreement would create a more favourable investment environment for companies on both sides, and that he believed it would also help Taiwanese firms build a more complete industrial cluster in Michigan. He said Taiwan-US trade and investment had kept warming, with Taiwan becoming the fourth-largest US trading partner last year, while the US is Taiwan's largest destination for outbound investment and its largest export market. On drones, he said he hoped the visit would bring more Taiwan-US industrial cooperation that jointly strengthens supply-chain resilience as well as both sides' technological and industrial security.
What did Whitmer say? Whitmer said she had come with her state government team, local elected officials and business partners, hoping to deepen industrial and people-to-people ties at the local level, CNA reported. She said Michigan was glad to contribute to stronger Taiwan-US relations and welcomed Michigan companies investing in Taiwan and Taiwanese companies setting up in Michigan. She said she was glad to see Taiwanese firms pursuing new projects in Michigan in fields such as automotive electronics and chip design, which were progressing smoothly. She said she hoped for a safe and prosperous Taiwan.
What ties already link Michigan and Taiwan? In the release, Lai said Michigan, a global hub of the car industry, is highly complementary with Taiwan's semiconductor, electronic-component and smart-manufacturing industries in fields such as smart transport, automotive software, information and communications technology and industrial automation, and that more and more Taiwanese companies are investing there. He thanked both chambers of the Michigan legislature, which he said had formed a bipartisan pro-Taiwan caucus and passed pro-Taiwan resolutions for five consecutive years. Whitmer said that since Michigan opened its trade office in Taiwan two years ago, the two sides had seen more investment, cultural exchange and academic cooperation, and that Taichung and Oakland County, Michigan, became sister cities during this visit.
Figures referenced: Lai Ching-te. — JudgeMarket.
