TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s top trade negotiator will travel to Suzhou, China, next week for a round of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation talks, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday.
Minister without Portfolio Yang Jen-ni (楊珍妮) will represent Taiwan at the May 22-23 meeting of trade ministers, Liberty Times reported. China is hosting APEC events in 2026, including the leaders’ summit scheduled for Nov. 18-19 in Shenzhen.
The ministry said that if China tries to pressure Yang, Taiwan would cooperate with like-minded economies in accordance with APEC’s consensus rules. As Taiwan is a full member of APEC, it has the right to send a government representative to three meetings in China this year, the ministry said.
Taiwan’s right to participate in APEC activities on the same level as other economies, under the name “Chinese Taipei,” dates back to a memorandum of understanding signed with South Korea, the host of the 1991 APEC summit. If China tries to interfere, Taiwan will present the MOU to the APEC Secretariat to defend its right to take part in the conferences on an equal footing with other members, the foreign ministry said.
Yang will be accompanied to Suzhou by officials from the Cabinet’s Office of Trade Negotiations and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
