TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwanese businesses are rapidly redirecting their investments away from China, according to Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council (MAC, 陸委會), the government agency overseeing cross-strait relations. MAC officials revealed Thursday (May 1) that Taiwanese investment in China has plummeted from 83.8% of total overseas investment in 2010 to a mere 2.7% in the first quarter of 2025, signaling a dramatic shift in cross-strait economic relations.
The MAC highlighted significant discrepancies in cross-strait investment data, pointing out that the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (中華人民共和國商務部) fails to consistently publish statistics on Taiwanese investments. Taiwan officials expressed skepticism toward figures released by China's Taiwan Affairs Office (國台辦), Beijing's agency handling Taiwan matters, which claimed a 127.1% surge in Taiwanese investment flowing into China during this year's first quarter.
A MAC-commissioned survey last year found a growing number of Taiwanese enterprises planning to exit the Chinese market within three to five years. These findings align with observations from Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA, 經濟部), the government department responsible for economic policy. According to the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF, 海基會), a semi-official organization handling cross-strait negotiations, many Taiwanese firms have cited plummeting profits as their primary motivation for ceasing Chinese operations and diversifying investments elsewhere.
Despite the exodus trend, China's Taiwan Affairs Office maintains that Taiwanese businesses invested US$1.26 billion (approximately NT$39.45 billion) in China during the first quarter of 2025, with 1,592 new Taiwanese-invested enterprises reportedly established during this period. The conflicting narratives highlight the increasingly complex economic relationship between Taiwan and China. ★