A SWING away from trade with Taiwan to Mainland China is not likely, according to the economic sentiment at the Taipei Liaison Office which is associated with the Taiwan Trade Development Corporation.
A well-founded and trusting trade history; quality, high-tech products at unbeatable prices; and solid transport links are only some of the reasons behind this confidence amongst the Taiwanese trade fraternity in SA.
While the SA government's shift of diplomatic alliance to the Mainland has caused political waves, the Taiwanese trade counsellors in Johannesburg appear to put economics before politics as the driving engine behind trade between the two countries.We're certainly not encouraging big projects to come to SA, said the Liaison Office's economics spokeswoman, talking about the political influence.
But I don't see that trade volumes will be affected. It will not be affected by what is happening on the political scene Our trade enquiries are running at the same level as always. She also suggested that Mainland China doesn't compete with Taiwan in most of the product categories that form the background of SA's import trade from Taiwan While it does well in high-volume, low-price products like clothing, footwear, novelty goods, furniture, basic machinery and the like, she suggests that its industrial capabilities in the high-tech product areas are not as well developed as in the island state of Taiwan.
High-tech electronic goods like CD-Rom, video players and hi-fis are still only available ex Taiwan, she said.
