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Machine Tool Makers in Taiwan and China Sign Cooperation Deal

2014/12/19 | By Ken Liu

The Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry (TAMI) and the China Machine Tool & Tool Builders' Association recently signed a memorandum to enhance cooperation between machine-tool makers in Taiwan and China.

The agreement was signed in Taipei during a meeting of the Cross Strait CEO Summit that ended Dec. 16 and was attended by industry executives from both side of the Taiwan Strait. The summit saw 31 agreements signed covering information technology & household appliance, energy & petrochemical equipment, finance, cultural & creative industries (CCIs), and small & midsized enterprises (SME).

TAMI President J.C. Wang said  machine-tool manufacturers from both sides should team to develop high-end machine tools as computerized controllers, smart robots, smart machines, combo- machining centers and five-axis machining centers for China, which is already the world's biggest market for machine tools but still mostly reliant on Japanese and German manufacturers for high-performance machine tools.

Taiwan's machine-tool makers aspire to be allowed to take part in China's railway projects, which are aggressively being built in many cities.

China's attendees suggested  Taiwanese industry peers to help them develop international markets with ample experience as well as  open the Taiwan market to China-made machine tools.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Xiang Wenbo of SANY Heavy Industry Co., Ltd., a major machine tool maker in China and globally, said Taiwan-built machines are good but unpopular in China due to lack of adequate information exchange.

Xiang said his company hopes to collaborate with Taiwan's manufacturers to develop overseas markets, set up factories, and even organize trade shows by tapping the ample experience of Taiwan's manufacturers in international marketing.

The summit, held Dec. 15-16, will be held in Nanjing in H2, 2015.

According to P.K. Chiang, vice chairman of the summit from  Taiwan and former chairman of the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), of the 31 agreements 24 are related to SMEs and CCIs, suggesting their rising importance  in the summit, and that the 2015  summit will emulate 2014 to allow more SMEs from both sides to be heard. (KL)