Taiwan's Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Chern-Chyi ''C.C.'' Chen and Germany's Parliamentary State Secretary for Economic Affairs and Climate Action Franziska Brantner delivered opening remarks at the 20th Taiwan-Germany Joint Business Council (JBC) Meeting on August 25.

During the meeting, Parliamentary State Secretary Brantner and Deputy Minister Chen also held the first dialogue on Taiwan-Germany Economic Policy Consultation. Not only did they discuss opportunities for cooperation on renewable energy, the circular economy, and semiconductor and electric vehicle supply chains, they also exchanged views on recent developments in the global economy.

The 20th JBC Meeting, which focused on carbon neutrality and net-zero carbon emissions, attracted over 120 participants. During the meeting, industrial stakeholders interacted with each other in order to jointly seek new business opportunities on energy conservation and de-carbonization.

Moreover, Parliamentary State Secretary Brantner and Deputy Minister Chen witnessed Siemens Taiwan, Kingsteel Machinery, and Ruh-Yih Automation sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to cooperate in the fields of energy efficiency, digital twinning, and sustainable development.

Parliamentary State Secretary Brantner and Deputy Minister Chen also listened to suggestions from Taiwanese and German businesses about the general investment environment, electric vehicles, smart machinery, and renewable energy.

According to the 2021 German Business Confidence Survey conducted by the German Trade Office, 61.3% of German entrepreneurs in Taiwan expect Taiwan's economy to continue growing in 2022. Germany is Taiwan's largest trading partner and its third-largest source of foreign investment from the EU. In 2021, bilateral trade between Taiwan and Germany totaled US$20.7 billion. As of July 2022, Germany's investments in Taiwan amounted to US$4.48 billion, mainly in the machinery and tools, electronics and computers, energy, and automotive industries.