TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan and Germany’s Saxony state opened their first joint science conference in Taipei on Tuesday, with Saxon officials calling bilateral cooperation a model for semiconductor collaboration.

The inaugural Saxony–Taiwan Science Conference was hosted by the Saxony Liaison Office for Science and Technology in Taiwan, per CNA. Attendees included Saxony Minister-President Michael Kretschmer, Saxony Science Minister Sebastian Gemkow, and National Science and Technology Council Deputy Minister Chen Ping-yu (陳炳宇).

Kretschmer, on his first visit to Taiwan, said the state shares a similar semiconductor industry history with Taiwan and has since become a hub for Europe’s chip sector. He told attendees that both regions built their industries through talent development and engineering expertise.

Kretschmer said the conference is part of a planned series, with another to be held in Dresden, and he hopes it will bring young people together to discuss shared challenges such as climate change, pandemics, and digitalization.

Gemkow said Taiwan and Saxony are recognized worldwide for their semiconductor expertise, adding that their partnership is built on shared values of innovation and knowledge. He described the relationship as a “story of trust and progress,” pointing to TSMC’s investment in Saxony as proof of confidence in the state.

TSMC and partners Bosch, Infineon, and NXP have already laid the foundation for long-term cooperation in Dresden, where their European Semiconductor Manufacturing Company broke ground in 2023. The plant is scheduled to begin production in 2027, turning out 28–12 nm chips for Europe’s automotive and industrial markets.