Tech show feels chill as mainland firms stay away
Chen Tao, the founder of Chengdu-based Micronet Union, is using the annual Computex Taipei tech show as the company’s first venue to tap overseas clients.
His sparkly exhibition platform, prominently placed at the front of a major showroom, features stuffed pandas and monitor displays in simplified Chinese characters – both emblematic of the mainland.
“Politics is one matter, economics is another,” Chen said, referencing cross-strait tensions and the United States-China trade dispute.
The producer of network communications gear has picked 35 countries – largely in Asia, the Middle East and South America – as targets for expansion, as it has sold all it can in its mainland market. “Economic issues are the most practical,” he said.
Micronet Union was one of 83 mainland exhibitors among the 1,000-plus total at Computex, which was attended by tech heavyweights such as NVIDIA founder Jensen Huang. The number of mainland exhibitors, however, was down sharply from 297 that attended the most recent fully in-person show in 2019.
Politically at odds, Taiwan has cut off formal dialogue with the mainland for seven years, and the two sides are allowing little travel, making on-site business exchanges difficult. As a result, mainland entrepreneurs are looking to the broader world market, even as they maintain a presence in Taipei.
Beijing sees self-ruled Taiwan as a breakaway province that must be reunited, by force, if necessary. Tensions have shot up since a visit to the island last year by then US House speaker Nancy Pelosi, which sparked mainland military drills near the island.
In the US, a staunch informal supporter of Taiwan, officials have barred transfers of high-end technology to Beijing while courting investment from the Taiwanese tech sector that is known for advanced chips and makes up about 30 per cent of the economy.
Direct investments from the mainland in Taiwan fell from a historic high of US$349.5 million in 2013 to US$38.7 million last year, according to the Taiwan Investment Commission. Monthly trade data has also shown a steady decline in Taiwanese exports to the mainland.
Many mainland entrepreneurs were probably avoiding Taiwan, whether at Computex or other venues, because they would find it “kind of weird” and “not so welcoming”, said Chen Yi-fan, an assistant professor of diplomacy and international relations at Tamkang University near Taipei.
Visas were hard to get for Taiwan, the professor said, even if events such as Computex allowed mainland participation.
“It’s not just access,” said Joanna Lei, chief executive of the Chunghua 21st Century think tank in Taiwan, pointing to crossstrait tensions. “If I were a business leader, I wouldn’t come … I’d be worried for my safety.”
Some exhibitors sent local Taiwanese representatives to the show instead of trying to fly people in from the mainland.
Taiwanese and mainland firms still did business in tech manufacturing and R&D, Lei said, but they met online or in third locations such as Singapore to reach deals. Taiwanese firms and trade groups still attended business forums on the mainland, she said.