Australia and Taiwan, two peas in a global pod

As the official representative of the Australian Commerce and Industry Office (ACIO) in Taiwan, Stephen Waters speaks for Australia on its long-standing productive relationship with Taiwan when he says, "I think it's really about the complementarities of the economies."

Trade, and the positive relationships that can be forged in pursuing it with the interests of all participants in mind, has meant big things for the two relatively small populations.

Yet Waters explains that it is precisely because the two can face each other as equals in size and goals that they "don't overpower each other" and have naturally developed what Waters emphasizes is a "natural synergy" on a complementary give-and-take basis.

"Obviously the largest exports Australia has to Taiwan are in the areas of minerals and energy, and as a highly industrialized economy these resources are very important to the development of Taiwan's economy. So from that point of view there's a natural synergy between the two," Waters says.

"On the Taiwan side going down to Australia," he says, "our major imports are of course all in the higher IT sorts of areas," with high quality computers, transformers and communications technology being central to Taiwan's trade reputation.

Waters goes on to say that as the two economies grow and develop with the times, the new range of products being offered by Australia has recently made waves in Taiwan: "There are areas of more and more elaborately transformed products coming into Taiwan."

He explains that pharmaceutical and health care products such as skin cream and vitamins have been received enthusiastically by the Taiwan market in recent years.

"An increasingly important part of this area has been the cooperation between Australian researchers and companies here in the testing and development of new drugs," with the trialing of a range of new anti-cancer drugs currently under way, Waters adds. "This is one field that we hope to develop further."

Recent large financial investments by Australian companies in Taiwan include ANZ bank, which, according to Waters, has "carved out a nice niche in the market and been quite successful."

However, superficial appearances regarding size or influence on the world stage have led many potential investors to overlook the shared AU$10 billion trade relationship between the two countries.

Tourism has played an important part in building awareness of Australia's natural and cultural heritage in Taiwan society, with the native koala bear and kangaroo an easily found motif for children's toys, schools and even hospital decorations. Apart from being cute and cuddly, these subtle things are what make the Taiwanese citizen take interest in what's going on "down under."

One of the industries in Australia that have begun to draw greater attention in Taiwan has been training and higher education. Waters attributes this to the recent 2006 visit of a high-powered academic delegation of members from the top-tier universities in Taiwan, which, upon being "surprised by the high quality of research going on in Australian universities," have contributed to a growing interest by Taiwanese students looking for high-quality education overseas.

According to Waters, the past two years have led to a growth in the number of PhD students choosing Australia as their preferred place of study.

The initiation of the new bilateral "Working Holiday Visa," obtainable by nationals under 30 years old, has allowed many more people to freely work or study for short periods during their stay for up to a year.

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