techUK to sign Memorandum of Understanding with CIECA as part of Taiwan delegation to the UK

Today, Friday 2 October 2026, techUK will sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the Chinese International Economic Cooperation Association (CIECA).

CIECA is a member-led organisation of Taiwanese businesses committed to expanding market opportunities for Taiwanese firms across the globe. CIECA works through a network of 162 organisations across 99 countries and with the Taiwanese government to fulfil its mandate to deepen international links between Taiwan and partner countries and facilitate economic and technological exchange.

The MoU focuses, among other workstreams, on deepening collaboration between the tech sectors of the UK and Taiwan, facilitating new commercial partnerships and reducing barriers to trade between the UK and Taiwan. Julian David OBE, CEO of techUK, and Joseph Lyu, Chairman of CIECA, will sign the MoU in the presence of Ministers from the UK and Taiwan in London.

The UK and Taiwan have two extremely dynamic tech sectors. The UK’s tech sector is the third largest globally, with strengths in fields such as design, IP, software and advanced technologies, while Taiwan produces 90% of leading-edge logic chips, 90% of AI servers and 70% of the world’s laptops, and is predicted to grow its GDP as a whole by more than 10% in 2026. The MoU is designed to cement the institutional partnership between these two sectors and expand opportunities where the UK and Taiwan can contribute to one another’s prosperity. This includes through promoting dialogue and partnerships between UK and Taiwanese tech companies and working to address barriers to digital trade as outlined in the Digital Pillar of the Enhanced Trade Partnership.

As neither tech sector is able to support an end-to-end supply chain, this MoU will also strengthen the resilience of both sectors through the cultivation of complementary strengths that currently exist and which are yet to fully emerge.

techUK-CIECA Business Roundtable and Taiwan Reception on 1 October

The MoU will be signed as part of the programme of a CIECA-led Taiwanese delegation to London. Yesterday, on Thursday 1 October, we hosted the CIECA delegation and UK companies for a roundtable at our offices to hear about opportunities for further UK-Taiwan collaboration. The roundtable was chaired by our Deputy CEO Antony Walker and included remarks from CIECA Chairman Lyu.

The roundtable included pitches from three UK companies (Aegiq, MyCena and Chevin Technologies), and three Taiwanese companies (Winbro Group, ASUS and Everlight Chemical). Each gave a brief presentation on the projects they are working on and outlined where they were looking for partners. After these pitches, the roundtable then held a discussion on how to promote further UK-Taiwan co-operation.

As with the pitches, the conversation in the roundtable revolved around the importance of securing partnerships. To do this, participants from UK and Taiwanese firms emphasised the importance of ensuring their products and their supply-chain needs were as visible as possible to potential partners. Firms also highlighted the value of finding trusted partners through direct contact, such as between businesses via delegations and pitching sessions.

Participants also noted that while semiconductors remain a fundamental anchor of the UK-Taiwan commercial relationship, there is also a great deal of innovation going on in both countries in technologies such as AI, quantum computing, digital ID and autonomous vehicles that offer further opportunities for collaboration between the two countries. This tied back to the theme of partnerships well, with firms agreeing that these opportunities required firms in both the UK and Taiwan to be more visible to one another so that companies looking for partners can more easily identify one another and develop those commercial relationships.

The majority of the time however was spent on business networking, with participants eagerly discussing amongst themselves how they can create new relationships and opportunities for their firms. This, and the quality of the pitches and discussion, shows there is plenty of appetite for deepening the UK-Taiwan relationship.

The networking continued into an evening reception at the Taiwan Representative Office in the UK, where Julian David delivered remarks. Julian emphasised techUK’s desire to sign the MoU with CIECA to institutionalise our work to build greater ties between the UK and Taiwan, the importance of the UK and Taiwan building up their commercial relationship as a route to greater economic prosperity, and the importance of forging partnerships that will make both our tech sectors more resilient.

Next steps

techUK will be working with CIECA in the future to develop new market opportunities for UK firms. techUK members who would like to be involved in this work should join the techUK International Technology Policy and Trade Group to receive regular updates on all of our international trade work and advanced briefings on future techUK initiatives with Taiwan.

techUK members who would like to know more, and non-members who want to get involved, should get in touch with [email protected].

techUK International Policy and Trade Programme activities

techUK supports members with their international trade plans and aspirations. We help members to understand market opportunities, tackle market access barriers, and build partnerships in their target market. Visit the programme page here.