ANNUAL REPORT

365
Figure 1: Taiwan’s Industrial Production, 2000–2016
Note: 2016 data are through June. The export data in this figure include re-exports.
Source: Taiwan Ministry of Economic Affairs and Ministry of Finance via CEIC database.
Scholars at the Chung-Hua Institute for Economic Research told
the Commission that although Taiwan’s economy showed negative
gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the first two quarters of
2016, Taiwan’s manufacturing will pick up in the final two quarters
to make up for these losses. Taiwan’s GDP growth tends to
fluctuate based on the release schedules of certain products that
Taiwan companies help to produce. For example, Taiwan had exceptionally
good GDP growth in 2014, mainly attributable to high
sales of the iPhone 6 rather than any sustained improvement in
Taiwan’s economic situation. 67
To address Taiwan’s economic dependence on China, the Ma Administration
strived to diversify Taiwan’s export markets, efforts
that President Tsai has continued. President Tsai and the DPP
have emphasized their objective of moving Taiwan toward participation
in the U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement,
and President Tsai is moving forward with plans to enhance
Taiwan’s trade and investment with the countries of Southeast
Asia, South Asia, and Oceania, part of her ‘‘New Southbound Policy,’’
which is discussed later in this section. 68
Goods Trade
As of August 2016, China remains Taiwan’s largest trading partner,
biggest export market, and top source of imports.* 69 In 2015,
annual cross-Strait trade totaled $111.4 billion,† comprising 22.6
percent of Taiwan’s total trade. 70 However, total cross-Strait trade
also decreased by about 11 percent in 2015 compared to 2014. 71
Taiwan’s exports to China have been hit hard by the slowdown
of China’s economy. 72 Taiwan’s exports to China in 2015 were
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* Trade statistics in this section do not include Taiwan’s trade with Hong Kong.
† All trade statistics from Taiwan’s Bureau of Foreign Trade in this section exclude re-exports
and re-imports.
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