Deputy FM Wu gives interview to France’s La Tribune

2025/09/09

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs François Chih-chung Wu said the strategic partnership in semiconductors between Taiwan’s Foxconn Group and France’s Thales Group marks a milestone development in bilateral relations between the two countries.
 
The deputy minister made the remarks during an interview conducted online with journalist Amélie Charnay for an article published Sept. 5 by France-based media outlet La Tribune.
 
Under a pact announced in May, the two sides will invest 250 million euros to set up a semiconductor packaging and testing plant in France. A press release from New Taipei City-based Foxconn said the facility is a way for the electronics manufacturing service provider to broaden its European footprint.
 
Europe is a priority destination for Taiwanese firms, especially like-minded democracies such as Germany, France and the U.K., Wu said. He added that the government hopes to attract more French students and engineers to Taiwan to take part in further development of the semiconductor industry.
 
Taiwan has a complete semiconductor ecosystem that includes integrated circuit design, manufacturing, packaging and testing, the deputy minister explained. He also said that it produces around 70 percent of all IC chips and nearly 100 percent of those required for artificial intelligence development, reflecting the country’s indispensable role in the global supply chain.
 
Wu attributed the success of Taiwan’s semiconductor industry to the long-term collaborations between local firms and their European partners, including Royal Philips Electronics N.V. and ASML Holding N.V. of the Netherlands, BASF SE of Germany and Air Liquide S.A. of France. He stressed that the cooperation between Taiwan and its democratic partners in Europe is not only limited to semiconductors but also includes automobiles, aviation and communications, and that it is only becoming more vital as Taiwanese firms continue to decrease investment in China.
 
Such partnerships are in the interest of all involved parties and uphold the core values of the free world while preventing these key sectors from being weaponized by China, Wu said. 


Source:  Taiwan Today (https://taiwantoday.tw/index.php)