Canada-Taiwan relations
Overview
Canada is represented in Taiwan by the Canadian Trade Office in Taipei. This is a locally-incorporated entity staffed by Canadian and local Taiwanese personnel. Consistent with its One China policy, Canada maintains unofficial but valuable economic, cultural and people-to-people ties with Taiwan.
Trade and investment
The latest data indicates that in 2024, Taiwan was Canada's 15th largest trading partner and sixth largest in Asia. Total merchandise trade with Taiwan in 2024 was $6.0 billion, with Canadian merchandise exports of $2.1 billion, and imports from Taiwan at $4.0 billion. Canada's priority sectors for business development in Taiwan are aerospace, information and communications technology, agri-food and seafood products, biotechnology and life sciences, clean technologies, education, and energy.
In 2024, Canada’s two-way services trade with Taiwan was $1.9 billion. Services exports to Taiwan were $668 million and services imports from Taiwan were $1.3 billion. Top sectors for service exports include transport, travel, research and development services, financial services, and intellectual property.
On an immediate investing country basis, the total stock of Canadian direct investment in Taiwan in 2024 stood at $105 million, and the total stock of Taiwan direct investment in Canada stood at $7.3 billion over the same period (7th largest in the Indo-Pacific).
Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Arrangement
On December 22, 2023, the Canadian Trade Office in Taipei and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Ottawa signed a foreign investment promotion and protection arrangement. This Arrangement is designed to help protect and promote Canadian investments in Taiwan, and Taiwanese investments in Canada.
Science, Technology, and Innovation Arrangement
On April 15, 2024, the Canadian Trade Office in Taipei and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Canada signed a Science, Technology, and Innovation Arrangement. This Arrangement will enable opportunities for business-led co-innovation partnerships in high tech sectors under the Canadian International Innovation Program as well as expanded research collaborations across the Canadian and Taiwanese ecosystems.
Collaborative Framework on Supply Chains Resilience
At
the 2023 Canada-Taiwan Economic Consultations, the Canadian Trade
Office in Taipei and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Canada
endorsed the Collaborative Framework on Supply Chains Resilience.
Taiwan
is an important regional partner in Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy. The
framework aims to build sustainable and diverse trade among reliable
partners to mitigate supply chain disruptions and increase resiliency.
Avoidance of Double Taxation Arrangement
On January 15, 2016, the Canadian Trade Office in Taipei and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Canada signed an Arrangement on the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income. The Arrangement limits the rate of withholding tax to 10% on dividends paid to a company that holds directly or indirectly at least 20% of the capital of the company that pays the dividends, and 15% on dividends paid in all other cases; and to 10% for payments of interest and royalties. The Arrangement also exempts from withholding tax certain payments of interest.
Related links
Partnerships and organizations
To develop effective responses to today’s most pressing global challenges, Canada and Taiwan work closely in multilateral fora, such as:
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Conservative MP's Taiwan trip meant to defy China's warnings, assert Canada's sovereignty
Michael Chong says China must not take unilateral action against Taiwan
Conservative
MP Michael Chong rises during question period in the House of Commons
on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Oct. 3, 2024 (Patrick Doyle/The Canadian
Press)Conservative MP Michael Chong says his trip to Taiwan this week is meant to exercise Canadian sovereignty and defy the Chinese government's warning to Canada not to send parliamentarians to the region.
"The goal was twofold," Chong said in an interview with CBC's The House. "First, it was to stand in solidarity with a democracy that's on the front lines of threats coming from an authoritarian state.
"The second purpose was to clearly state that MPs do not take direction from a foreign government as to where they travel internationally," Chong told host Catherine Cullen.
In April, China's Ambassador to Canada Wang Di told the Globe and Mail that he's optimistic about warming ties between Ottawa and Beijing, but warned that "official engagement" by parliamentarians with Taiwanese officials "will be hurtful."
Chong dismissed concerns about damaging Canada's economic relationships.
"The key thing for trade and investment is stability," he said. "You have to have peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region."
China launches military drills, putting Taiwan on alert"We've not had that disruption in the Indo-Pacific region, but I think it's something that we need to be mindful of, and we have to ensure China does not take unilateral action against Taiwan," Chong said.
Taiwan considers itself an independent nation, but China views the island as its territory and has not ruled out taking it by force.
The Conservative MP added that in order to ensure peace and stability, China must understand that unilateral action against Taiwan will come with a steep price, assured by Taiwan's relationships with many Western democracies.
Chong met with Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te on Wednesday. He has said the federal government was aware of his travel plans ahead of time.
Also on Wednesday, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand did not directly answer a reporter's question about whether the federal government supports Chong's trip, but noted there's a long history of parliamentary delegations travelling around the world.
She reiterated Canada's long-standing "one China policy" under which the country maintains unofficial but significant relations with Taiwan in economic and cultural exchanges.
Foreign
Affairs Minister Anita Anand wouldn't say directly if the federal
government supports Chong's trip. The Conservative MP says the
government was aware of his travel plans ahead of time. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)"Those are the main points that we consider from a foreign policy perspective when thinking about the Indo-Pacific region, and in particular our relationship with Taiwan," Anand said.
A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy denounced Chong's trip in a statement, saying "his meetings with officials of the Taiwan region authorities gravely contravene the one-China commitment" and sends an implicit message of support for Taiwanese independence.
"China firmly opposes this. The Taiwan question is the core of China's core interests, which brooks no external interference," the spokesperson said.
Canada's current ties with China
Ties between Canada and China have warmed somewhat since Prime Minister Mark Carney's high-profile meeting with Chinese president Xi Jinping in January.
That meeting ended with a tariff deal. Canada agreed to let in 49,000 Chinese-made EVs at a lower tariff rate in exchange for China cutting duties on Canadian canola seed, lobsters, crabs and peas.
China also decided to allow Canadian passport holders to travel to the country without needing a visa. That exemption lasts until December 2026.
Carney meets Xi Jinping, hails progress in resetting trade with ChinaAhead of Carney's meeting with the Chinese president, Liberal MPs Helena Jaczek and Marie-France Lalonde cut short a sponsored trip to Taiwan.
The MPs said in a statement that their decision was informed by advice from the government and aimed to "avoid confusion with Canada's foreign policy."
Conservative MPs Melissa Lantsman, Adam Chambers and Shelby Kramp-Neuman continued with the trip after their Liberal counterparts left. At the time, Chong criticized the government members for choosing to return to Canada.
Chong has been targeted by China in the past. Canada expelled a Chinese diplomat in 2023 for targeting the Conservative MP's family, and he was later the target of a disinformation operation on Chinese social media platform WeChat.
Chong told Cullen he doesn't think about the personal risk with his trip.
"At the end of the day, I've got the privilege of being elected to office in Canada, giving me a pulpit essentially to fight against transnational repression, fight against the intimidation and threats that are coming from Beijing," he said.
"There are many Canadians out there ... who don't have a voice and who suffer in silence, and so I feel a strong obligation to speak up on these issues to ensure that their points of view are being heard loud and clear."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
With files from The Canadian Press
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