President Lai meets Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego

On the afternoon of January 14, President Lai Ching-te met with a delegation led by Mayor of the City of Phoenix, Arizona Kate Gallego. In remarks, President Lai thanked the city for building a business-friendly environment, making it possible for Taiwan's semiconductor suppliers to establish a base and provide services in Phoenix, and allowing Phoenix to progressively develop a tech cluster of major strategic significance globally. He stated that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC)'s investment in Arizona is one of the most notable achievements in Taiwan-United States exchanges, and is also a highly important symbol of collaboration between Taiwan and the US. The president expressed hope that Taiwan and Phoenix will make steady progress, paving the way for more forward-looking exchanges and cooperation.

A translation of President Lai's remarks follows:

I would like to warmly welcome Mayor Gallego on her third visit to Taiwan since 2019, and thank her on behalf of our people for supporting Taiwan through concrete actions over many years. When I made a stopover in San Francisco as vice president in 2023, she attended our overseas community gathering, demonstrating her high regard and friendship for Taiwan and continuing to strengthen bilateral relations.

In addition to sharing the universal values of democracy and freedom, Taiwan and the US have progressively established deep and stable ties of friendship in such key areas as technology, the economy and trade, and talent cultivation. In particular, the US has become Taiwan's largest target for overseas direct investment in recent years, accounting for over 40 percent of our total outbound investment. Meanwhile, Taiwan has also become a crucial trading and supply chain partner to the US. TSMC's investment in Arizona is one of the most notable achievements in Taiwan-US exchanges. This is not just about a single company engaging in market expansion - as Taiwanese businesses expand their global presence and build up the high-tech and semiconductor industry domains, it is also a highly important symbol of Taiwan-US collaboration.

I would especially like to thank Mayor Gallego and the Phoenix City Government and Council for their efficiency and commitment to building a business-friendly environment and for providing such a wide range of assistance, from infrastructure to investment promotion and administrative coordination. This has made it possible for Taiwan's semiconductor suppliers to establish a base and provide services in Phoenix. It is also allowing Phoenix to progressively develop a tech cluster of major strategic significance globally.

Facing the rapid arrival of the AI era, US President Donald Trump is seeking to actively promote reindustrialization and make the US a global AI hub. Taiwan is willing and able to employ its own comprehensive semiconductor and high-tech ecosystem in combination with the US's powerful drive for innovation and large-scale market to jointly strengthen industrial connections and build trusted non-red supply chains. This will help further consolidate Taiwan-US economic and trade cooperation and industrial security.

Taiwan and Arizona are focusing strongly on talent cultivation and intergenerational connections. Through cooperation in higher education, we are promoting semiconductor and AI talent training, dual degree programs, internships, and research exchanges. Working step by step in support of industry, we are jointly building a new generation of talent with professional skills and global perspectives. This cooperative approach addresses actual industrial needs and binds Taiwan and Phoenix together, not only as tech investment partners, but also as strategic partners that are jointly nurturing future experts.

Moving ahead, Taiwan will continue to engage in more comprehensive and diverse exchanges with the US. I anticipate that, with the support and efforts of our guests, a Taiwan-US agreement on the avoidance of double taxation will be signed at the earliest possible juncture. This will help TSMC and its suppliers operate in the US on a long-term basis while generating even more high-paying jobs and growth among industrial clusters in Phoenix and Arizona. In closing, I once again welcome Mayor Gallego and her delegation to Taiwan and wish everyone a fruitful visit. I hope that Taiwan and Phoenix will make steady progress, paving the way for more diverse, deeper, and more forward-looking exchanges and cooperation.

Mayor Gallego then delivered remarks, first thanking President Lai and the diplomatic team for their hospitality, and expressing appreciation for the warm partnership between the people of Phoenix and the people of Taiwan. She indicated that she is joined in the delegation by Phoenix City Councilwoman Ann O'Brien, who represents the district that is home to TSMC Arizona. Mayor Gallego noted that this was the largest foreign direct investment in US history, and that TSMC Arizona recently purchased additional land in Phoenix to allow for an expansion. She stated that TSMC's success is Phoenix's success, and that TSMC Arizona is already profitable. The firm has much benefited the people of Phoenix, she said, including young people who are able to buy their first homes and start families because of their jobs at TSMC Arizona. The mayor also thanked the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) for their work in facilitating the partnership.

Mayor Gallego pointed out that this month, they will also celebrate the inaugural non-stop flight between Taipei and Phoenix from STARLUX, which will join China Airlines in providing this service. She stated that these important flights will only deepen our ties, and expressed appreciation to President Lai for his partnership in the process. Mayor Gallego said that the delegation is working to make sure that the people of Phoenix know that Taipei should be their gateway to travel in Asia, and that people should come to Taiwan for both business and tourism. She added that there are also many experiences that Phoenix can offer to tourists from Taiwan.

The mayor indicated that there are decades of friendship between Arizona and Taiwan, and that we will soon have the chance to celebrate 50 years of the sister city relationship between Phoenix and Taipei. She said that they also celebrate the sister city relationship between Chandler, Arizona and Tainan, as well as the important relationships that President Lai started during his time as mayor of Tainan, highlighting the youth baseball friendship games that have continued to deepen the relationship between Arizona and Taiwan.

Although Arizona-Taiwan collaboration on semiconductors is the best known, Mayor Gallego continued, there is also a long history of collaboration in areas such as aerospace, including the training of pilots in Arizona, which they hope to build on. She also reported on successful collaboration in healthcare and bioscience, saying that many companies from Taiwan will be selling their products in the US with their North American headquarters in Phoenix. As these companies from Taiwan help the US address challenges such as cancer, she said, this will also help create jobs in Taiwan, benefiting both countries enormously.

Mayor Gallego stated that Phoenix is also working to bring in banking institutions, healthcare, and everything Taiwanese companies need to succeed in the US so that both sides can benefit from our mutual collaboration. To close, she said that they are honored to share so many values, from celebrating democracy to shared investment in innovation, for the benefit of both countries, and that they have a feeling 2026 will be our best year yet.

The delegation was accompanied to the Presidential Office by AIT Acting Director Karin M. Lang.