Premier Jiang Yi-huah and various ministry heads exchanged views with industry leaders at a meeting organized by the Taiwan-based Chinese National Federation of Industries (CNFI) today.
Jiang expressed his gratitude to the CNFI for organizing the event, a summit for the heads of industry associations, saying it allowed officials to receive suggestions from the private sector and update businesses on the government's newest economic policies.
The nation's competitiveness has been confirmed by international ratings agencies such as the World Economic Forum (WEF), the premier said. He noted that in the WEF's Global Competitiveness Report 2013-2014, Taiwan ranked 12th out of 148 economies, one spot higher than the year before, and the nation's high position in the WEF's competitiveness index has been quite steady over the past several years.
On the same note, the Switzerland-based International Institute for Management Development ranked Taiwan 11th in its most recent World Competitiveness Yearbook. Furthermore, the World Bank rated it 16th in its Doing Business 2013, continuing a meteoric rise from a position of 61st place in 2009.
"From the reports of these international ratings agencies, we can see that Taiwan is among the frontrunners in the highly competitive global business environment," Jiang affirmed.
Further action is necessary to maintain this position, the premier warned: "East Asia is especially competitive, and if we cannot continuously deregulate industry, our rankings in coming years could be downgraded as foreign businesses and international investors see shortcomings in our business environment."
"Therefore, over the past few years the Executive Yuan has made economic development its top priority," he stated. "This effort involves a number of agency jurisdictions: not only the industrial and commercial sphere of the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) but also those of the Council of Labor Affairs (CLA), Environmental Protection Administration (EPA), Ministry of the Interior (MOI) and Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW).
"Ministries must join forces to successfully create a competitive environment friendly to investors and industries. A macroscopic foundation for mid- and long-term development has been laid over the past two to three years, especially through the financial and economic policies led by former Premier Sean Chen. We should put into practice concrete commitments that are in line with this policy orientation, including accelerating efforts to join regional economic partnerships and complete cross-strait services and merchandise trade agreements, promoting Free Economic Pilot Zones (FEPZs) and deregulating finance and e-commerce.
"The Taiwanese private sector is full of vitality, and this applies to industries as well as civil society. These proactive, diligent businessmen are the biggest force behind Taiwan's economic development.
"The government has a necessary role to play as well, however. It should lead the nation toward openness, freedom and competitiveness while continuously improving its basic environment and public infrastructure. It should relax regulations, emphasizing the development of prosperity over the prevention of potential wrongdoing. If the government can formulate sound policies and carry out deregulation, I am sure that Taiwan's tenacious businesses can achieve dazzling success around the world."
Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) Minister Kuan Chung-ming gave a lecture at the conference on the planning and prospects of the FEPZs, in which he gave details on the government's core concepts of liberalization, globalization and farsightedness.
Accompanying the premier to today's event were Executive Yuan Spokesperson Cheng Li-wun, MOEA Minister Chang Chia-juch, Minister of Finance Chang Sheng-ford, CEPD Minister Kuan, CLA Minister Pan Shih-wei, Council of Agriculture Minister Chen Bao-ji and EPA Minister Shen Shu-hung as well as representatives of the MOI, Ministry of Transportation and Communications, MOHW, Public Construction Commission and Central Bank of the Republic of China (Taiwan).