Taiwan’s exports surged in January, propelled by the AI boom and high demand for its chips.
The 70% year-on-year growth marked the largest increase for any month since 2010. As global tech giants gobble up Taiwan-made hardware, something of a two-track economy has emerged, analysts said, in which traditional manufacturers are missing out on the export boom.
The island’s tech dominance has become a bargaining chip in trade talks, as it faces pressure from Washington to move chipmaking capacity to the US.
But Taipei rebuffed that proposal this week; it sees its semiconductor dominance — or “Silicon Shield” — as a deterrent against Chinese aggression.
