Taipei: Taiwan’s “visibility” at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit has seen a marked improvement this year, as many member economies are eager to collaborate in advanced technology fields, according to Lin Hsin-i, Taiwan’s envoy to the 2025 APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting.
According to Focus Taiwan, Lin shared these insights during a press conference organized by the Office of the President. He noted that unlike in the past when Taiwan had to exert significant effort to attract foreign investment and cooperation, many economies are now proactively approaching Taiwan. Lin, who is currently an advisor to the president, described the atmosphere as one where “when the flower blooms, the butterfly comes naturally.”
Lin reported holding “constructive exchanges” with numerous leaders and delegation members, who showed a readiness to collaborate in areas such as semiconductors, ICT, medical technology, and SME development. He emphasized that these interactions not only boosted Taiwan’s visibility but also laid a solid groundwork for future economic and trade cooperation.
Representing President Lai Ching-te, Lin participated in this year’s APEC Leaders’ Meeting in South Korea, which concluded on Saturday. Despite being a full APEC member, Taiwan’s president cannot attend the meeting due to Chinese objections and political pressure, necessitating the appointment of a special envoy.
The APEC discussions this year centered on technological innovation, supply chain security, and artificial intelligence (AI), with South Korea spotlighting AI and demographic change as key themes, Lin informed reporters. He also highlighted the challenges the international economic order faces, including geopolitical changes, supply chain restructuring, technological transformation, and climate change.
President Lai instructed the delegation to communicate three main themes to the international community. Firstly, Taiwan is committed to enhancing economic resilience and fostering regional economic development. Secondly, Taiwan is eager to share its expertise in leading industries. Lastly, Taiwan is accelerating the promotion of people-centered AI development, Lin stated.
Lin elaborated on Taiwan’s efforts to promote AI applications across various industries through public-private partnerships. He highlighted projects such as an AI and aging economy initiative by Acer, which uses facial recognition to detect dementia with an 86 percent accuracy rate, and a smart healthcare project by Quanta Computer Inc. that trained 150 participants from 17 economies in AI tools this year.
Additionally, a project by Taiwan Mobile Co. assisted 2,000 small and medium-sized enterprises in conducting cybersecurity assessments across 21 economies. The National Science and Technology Council has also developed an AI-based high-precision weather model that improved forecast resolution from 25 kilometers to 2 kilometers.
Lin noted that during Typhoon Gaemi in 2024, the model’s enhanced ability to depict the typhoon’s structure improved forecast accuracy, enabling central and local governments to implement preventive measures early and mitigate disaster losses.