On behalf of the government and people of the Republic of China (Taiwan), Director-General Scott Lai and Deputy Director May Lin congratulated newly-elected New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu in Concord on March 7, and expressed his desire to strengthen cooperation with New Hampshire in various areas.
Governor Sununu welcomed Mr. Lai and expressed interest in visiting Taiwan in the future. The Governor also aims to attract Taiwanese companies to invest in New Hampshire, promote tourism, and strengthen higher education exchange. Mr. Lai said that he looks forward to cooperating with New Hampshire, known for excellent investment conditions and technical talent.
Taiwan and the United States maintain a close relationship. Taiwan is the U.S.’ tenth largest trade partner, with a total of $65 billion in 2016 and Taiwan is the U.S. second largest per capita consumption of agricultural products. In terms of bilateral trade, the U.S. is Taiwan’s largest source of foreign investment. Taiwan’s trade and investment in the U.S has created more than 300,000 jobs. Governor Sununu aims to stimulate New Hampshire’s economic development as his top priority. Since Taiwan is New Hampshire’s 9th largest export market in Asia, Mr. Lai also looks forward to further strengthening Taiwan- New Hampshire bilateral trade and educational relations under his leadership.
The friendship between Taiwan and New Hampshire is close. Taiwan is New Hampshire’s ninth largest export market, with a total of $36 million (an increase of nearly 20 percent over two years ago) in 2016. Major exports to Taiwan include machinery and electronics. Manchester, New Hampshire’s largest city, and Taichung are also sister cities. There are about 100 Taiwanese students studying in New Hampshire. In fact, Southern New Hampshire University has signed intercollegiate exchange programs with 10 universities in Taiwan.
