Taiwan President Lai Ching-te said in a virtual interview that Taiwan is willing to help mainland China solve the economic problems it is facing.
The Office of the President of Taiwan announced on its official website that Lai Ching-te was interviewed by the host of The New York Times' "DealBook Summit." The content of the interview aired in the early morning hours of the 4th.
Lai Ching-te said that the mainland Chinese economy "is indeed very bad at the moment, while Taiwan's economic growth rate this year will reach as high as 7.37%." He added: "Taiwan is very willing to help China and work together to solve the various economic problems they are facing."
When asked about the likelihood that the United States, especially President Trump, would come to Taiwan's defense if mainland China were to attack Taiwan, Lai Ching-te did not answer directly.
Lai Ching-te said that, although Taiwan and the United States do not have official diplomatic relations, Taiwan is very grateful to the U.S. Congress for passing the Taiwan Relations Act and to the late President Reagan for establishing the Six Assurances to Taiwan.
Lai continued that, for decades, both the U.S. government and Congress, across party lines, have provided strong support to Taiwan, so the relationship between Taiwan and the United States is rock solid. Since Trump took office, cooperation between the U.S. and Taiwan has not been interrupted; in fact, there is a trend of increasing cooperation: "We very much look forward to resolving the U.S. trade deficit through this round of tariff negotiations, which will not only address America’s needs but also deepen trade and economic relations between Taiwan and the United States, and further strengthen the alliance between the two sides."