Interview with Germany’s representative, Eva Langerbeck
Interview with Germany’s representative, Eva Langerbeck
2024-09-19
Taiwan’s ties with Germany have been flourishing for many years. Recently the relationship reached new heights when TSMC, Taiwan’s star chipmaker, broke ground at its Dresden fab in August. It was the first European venture for the Taiwanese company that makes roughly 90% of the world’s most advanced chips. Our very own FTV reporter Stephany Yang spoke to the new German Trade Representative Eva Langerbeck about Taiwan’s economic ties with Germany. Let’s hear what Langerbeck has to say.
Dr. Eva Langerbeck assumed office in July as the new Chief Representative and Executive Director of German Trade Office Taipei. Langerbeck said one of her main goals is to put more German attention on areas where Taiwan can make a major contribution to Germany’s economy. She pointed to semiconductors.
Eva Langerbeck
German Trade Office Taipei
One of my goals is, of course, number one, increasing the visibility of Taiwan’s strengths of where you can play a vital role for the German economy. One, of course, is semi-conductors, which, thanks to the investment of TSMC, is at the forefront right now. The most successful years were during the COVID years due to the semiconductors, because the demand especially for specialized chips was at an all-time high globally. You can see that in the trade statistics already. When you look at the trade statistics between Germany and Taiwan at the moment, microelectronics and electrical components is still the majority, which I believe is around 30%.
TSMC is currently building a US$11.04 billion fab in Dresden, Germany, in its first expansion into Europe. Production is expected to begin in 2027. Subsidies have been approved by the European Union, and a TSMC delegation visited Germany to familiarize itself with the region and German working culture.
Eva Langerbeck
German Trade Office Taipei
For the TSMC side, of course, there was a groundbreaking ceremony on the 20th of August, which I heard was very successful and was covered extensively in the media. Also, the subsidy has also been approved by the European Union so the project is on track is also what we hear from TSMC. We also had a delegation with Silicon Saxony to Germany for some of the suppliers of TSMC, to introduce them of course to the region and also show them what is on offer: where they could set up companies and also what is the working culture, and so on. And also to ease a bit maybe voices that there could be challenges along the road. This is something we will definitely continue.
Aside from semiconductors, Langerbeck said other areas of collaboration with Taiwan included artificial intelligence, aerospace technologies, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and automation, as well as robotics, health care and renewable energy.
Eva Langerbeck
German Trade Office Taipei
There are other areas where mutual collaboration would be beneficial for both sides. One is artificial intelligence, also automation robotics. The other area would be healthcare, because both of our populations are aging, so that could be pharmaceuticals, biotechnology but also smart healthcare solutions for example. We do have overlap in machinery and also tool manufacturing, because we have a lot of German companies in Taichung, which is the heart of that industry here. And definitely of course also renewable energy. Both of our economy are going through a renewable energy transition at the moment.
Prior to taking up office in Taipei, she earned her Ph.D. in Islamic Studies and worked at the Malaysian-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Langerbeck said she’s eager to further strengthen bilateral trade ties between Taiwan and Germany.
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德國經濟辦事處首席代表蘭依樺博士 暢談台德關係
2024-09-19
台灣與德國的關係多年來蓬勃發展。今年八月，台積電在德勒斯登工廠動土，雙方關係達到了新的里程碑。台積電生產全球約九成最先進晶片，這是他們在歐洲首座晶片廠。民視英語新聞專訪新任德國經濟辦事處首席代表暨處長蘭依樺博士，一起來了解。
蘭依樺博士7月接任德國經濟辦事處首席代表暨處長，她的主要目標之一是讓德國更關注台灣為德國經濟注入活水的領域，她特別指出半導體。
[[德國經濟辦事處首席代表暨處長 蘭依樺博士]]
"當然，我的目標之一，針對台灣在德國經濟中發揮影響力的部分，提升能見度。其中之一當然是半導體，由於台積電的投資，目前處於領先地位。因為半導體的影響，在新冠疫情期間最成功，因為全球對晶片的需求達到了高峰。從貿易統計數據中可以看到。現在看德國和台灣之間的貿易統計，微電子和電子元件仍然佔大多數，我認為在30%左右。"
台積電在德國東部德勒斯登，興建在歐洲的第一座晶片廠，耗資110億美元，目標是2027年開始量產。補助已獲得歐盟批准，台積電代表團訪問德國，了解當地和德國的工作文化。
[[德國經濟辦事處首席代表暨處長 蘭依樺博士]]
"台積電方面在8月20日舉行了動土儀式，聽說非常順利，媒體也大篇幅報導。此外，補貼也已獲得歐盟批准，因此計畫也已步入正軌，這也是我們從台積電那裡聽到的。有一些代表前往德國，會見台積電的一些供應商，了解當地情況，可以在哪裡設立公司，以及工作文化等等。同時也為了減輕未來可能面臨的挑戰而準備，這我們一定會繼續做的。"
蘭依樺博士 表示，除了半導體之外，與台灣的其他合作領域還包括人工智慧、航空航天技術、製藥、生物技術和自動化，以及機器人、醫療保健和再生能源。
[[德國經濟辦事處首席代表暨處長 蘭依樺博士]]
"在其他領域，相互合作對雙方都有好處。一是人工智慧，也是自動化機器人。另一個領域是醫療保健，因為我們兩國的人口都在老化，因此可能是製藥、生物技術，也可能是智慧醫療保健解決方案。我們在機械和工具製造方面確實有重疊，因為台中有很多德國公司，台中是這個產業的重心。當然還有再生能源。目前我們兩國的經濟都正在經歷再生能源轉型。"
蘭依樺擁有伊斯蘭研究博士學位，到台北任職之前，擔任馬來西亞德國工商總會的代理處長、副處長。她期盼能進一步加強台灣與德國之間的雙邊貿易關係。
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