China-Taiwan conflict forces latter to shift business operations to other parts of Asia

Amid tensions between Taiwan and China, Taiwanese companies in China have started to shift their operations to Southeast Asia. The Taiwanese companies have taken the decision over fears that a war may start between China and Taiwan. According to ANI, a US think tank has said that Taiwan needs to provide additional support for Research and Development in order to make them capable of competing globally. 

Taiwan's value-driven outreach faces a problem in Southeast Asia as democracy is retreating in various nations of the region, including Cambodia and Myanmar, ANI cited Nikkei Asia report. The regimes of these nations move towards China in exchange for political patronage. Notably, ties between China and Taiwan have strained after US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to the island, which Beijing claims as its territory. China raised objections to her visit and announced military drills around Taiwan. According to the survey carried out by the US-based think tank Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), more than 500 Taiwanese corporate executives, over a quarter (25.7%) of the surveyed companies with business in China have moved some of their production or sourcing operations out of China. Furthermore, other companies were considering making a similar move. 

The survey further revealed a majority of those who were planning to shift was going to Southeast Asia while slightly more than half of them were planning to operate some of their business in Taiwan. Chen Kuan-ting, CEO of Taiwan Next Gen Foundation, a Taipei-based think tank, said that the new Southbound policy of the companies was "timely" in view of the expense and reliability issues witnessed in China. Notably, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen started the New Southbound Policy in 2016 which called for Taiwan to reach out to its neighbours in the South and distancing from China. According to a survey conducted by CSIS, 80% of the respondents believe that Beijing does not possess a coherent international strategy and plan to achieve reunification with Taiwan. The survey was conducted with 64 experts on China, Taiwan and cross-strait relations. 

"There is no doubt that the New Southbound Policy was timely given the expense and reliability issues we have increasingly seen with doing business in the People's Republic of China," Nikkei Asia quoted Chen Kuan-ting as saying. 

Majority of Africans consider Chinese companies part of Chinese govt

Meanwhile, most people in Africa do not consider Chinese companies as independent entities. However, they consider them as part of the Chinese government over their 'explosive attitude' and have even started turning against them, ANI cited Geo Politik report. Chinese companies operating in African nations have stressed on using security apparatus and human resources from China. The decision of Chinese companies has resulted in the recruitment of about a million Chinese nationals from more than 10,000 Chinese companies in Africa. The market for China's security services has increased massively after China's Belt and Road initiative (BRI). Many Chinese companies acquire capabilities of gathering intelligence and carrying out surveillance against threats while some of them work with local institutions, including the country's armed forces. The rise in China's involvement in local issues has resulted in law and order problems in host nations.

Inputs from ANI

Image: AP