CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. — Fresh off a trade trip to Taiwan, a member of the House of Delegates leadership team is applauding the state’s relationship with the Taiwanese people.
Delegate Paul Espinosa, R-Jefferson, who serves as Speaker pro-tem in the House, said it was a successful trip in more ways than one.
Espinosa joined Senate President Craig Blair, House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, Secretary of Economic Development Mitch Carmichael, state Economic Development Director Mike Graney and others on the trip.
A new trade office was established in an effort to attract more investment from Taiwan in West Virginia, which is already yielding some leads, according to Espinosa.
“We had an opportunity to meet with Foxconn officials, a major producer of silicon chips, and we plugged the idea of perhaps investing in West Virginia,” Espinosa told WEPM’s Panhandle Live show during an appearance Monday.
The sole purpose of the new office will be to promote the state and encourage Taiwanese investment. It will also assist West Virginia businesses with exporting their products and services to Taiwan, Espinosa said.
“I think the whole intention is for it to be a mutually beneficial arrangement. We’ve already seen some positive impacts from our relationship with Taiwan with he investment in Mason County (APG Polytech),” he said.
At Thursday’s ribbon cutting, Senate President Blair pledged to establish a long-term relationship with Taiwan and allow the West Virginia to become more competitive in its mission to attract new investment opportunities.
“When I first visited Taiwan in 2018, I knew that it was a special place, and I began working on ways we could set up a West Virginia trade office here,” Blair said. “The people of Taiwan are exactly like the great people of West Virginia. They’re both family oriented, industrious, innovative, and extremely warm, caring and welcoming. In fact, the song ‘Take Me Home, Country Roads’ is as popular in Taiwan as it is in West Virginia. Everyone knows the words regardless of the language barrier.”
Speaker Hanshaw said the face-to-face conversations should further strengthen the existing relationship.
“Our relationship with our friends here in Taiwan is special, and I’m excited West Virginia will be on the ground here to actively recruit companies that would be a great fit for the economy we’ve been building here in the Mountain State. I appreciate the work our Department of Economic Development has put in here already and I’m eager to see how that continues even after we leave here this week,’ he said.