India considering trade talks with Taiwan amid diplomatic scuffle with China: Report

Incumbent Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen (Image: Reuters)

After previous reluctance to sign a pact with Taiwan, the government is considering formal talks for a trade deal with the country as relations with China are now skewed.

Taiwan has sought trade talks for years, but this was something Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government avoided, a government official told The Times of India.

Moneycontrol could not independently verify the report.

“Over the past few months hawks in India who want to start trade talks are getting the upper hand. A trade deal with Taiwan would help India's goal of seeking greater investments in technology and electronics, but it is unclear when a final decision would be made on whether to start talks,” the official stated.

The consideration seems to be in line with government’s decision to include Taiwanese firms Foxconn Technology Group, Pegatron Corporation and Wistron Corporation in its Rs 10.5 lakh crore domestic smartphone production plan.

Taiwan foreign minister Joseph Wu’s told India Today in October, “We have think about ways for like-minded democracies to work together… We have traditional good relations with the US, Japan and want to develop good ties with India as well.”

Bagging a trade deal with India would be a big win for Taiwan, which has struggled due to conduct negotiations with most economies because of pressure from China, the report pointed out.

Notably, India is among the majority of countries that do not recognise Taiwan as a country and both only maintain 'representative offices' instead of complete diplomatic missions.

Indian public sentiment of China has been deteriorating following border clashes between the Indian Army and China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in Ladakh. In fact, Indian twitteratti trended the #TaiwanNationalDay hastag after the Chinese ambassador rebuked Indian media for referring to Taiwan as a 'country' when reporting its National Day celebrations on October 10.

Ji Rong, a spokesperson for China's embassy in New Delhi had on October 16 “urged Indian media to adhere to the correct position with regard to the significant core interests of China's sovereignty and territorial integrity.” Adding: "… should not provide Taiwan independence' forces a platform, so as to avoid sending the wrong message."