ECFA exports to China hit record low; Taiwan Affairs Office insists 'de-Sinicization' impossible

Taiwan's exports of "early harvest" products under the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) to mainland China have hit a record low, falling to $13.1 billion in 2025. This marks a significant decline from its peak, contributing to Taiwan's overall export share to China dropping to 13.1% in 2025, down from 26.3% in 2016.

In response to the declining figures, Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for China's Taiwan Affairs Office, asserted that Taiwan's economy cannot possibly "de-Sinicize." She stated that the ECFA, signed under the "1992 Consensus," has brought tangible benefits to the people. Zhu blamed Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) for undermining the agreement by refusing to acknowledge the "1992 Consensus" and blocking the cross-strait service trade agreement, while maintaining discriminatory trade measures against China.

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Taiwan's economy cannot possibly 'de-Sinicize.'

Zhu further claimed that China's mainland remains a strong support for Taiwanese businesses and compatriots, citing a bilateral trade volume of $314.3 billion in 2025, a 7.3% increase amid global trade slowdown. She also noted the establishment of 8,132 new Taiwanese-funded enterprises in China that year, indicating deepening cross-strait industrial cooperation.

However, Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council spokesperson, Liang Wen-chieh, refuted Zhu's claims. Liang stated that no cross-strait agreement, including ECFA, was ever signed based on the "1992 Consensus" or the "One China Principle." He emphasized that such preconditions were not included in the preamble of agreements related to cross-strait air transport, tourism, sea transport, or ECFA itself.

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From never has any agreement been signed because there was a 1992 Consensus. When our government signed various agreements, whether it was the cross-strait air transport agreement, the agreement for mainland residents to travel to Taiwan, or the cross-strait maritime agreement, or even ECFA, it was never written at the beginning that this was based on the 1992 Consensus or the One China principle.