HONG KONG ¨C Ma Ying-jeou, Taiwan¡¯s president from 2008 to 2016, who last year became the first former or sitting Taiwanese leader to visit mainland China, made a return trip in April. His 11-day visit, which included a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, is significant not only because it highlighted the two sides¡¯ historical and cultural links, but also because it refocused the Chinese government¡¯s attention on areas where it could learn from and cooperate with Taiwan.
A small island with few natural resources, Taiwan punches well above its weight economically. From 1980 to 2008, Taiwan¡¯s annual real gross domestic product growth averaged 6.8% ¡ª significantly higher than the under-2% average in OECD countries. While growth slowed after the 2008 global financial crisis, it stabilized relatively quickly.
Today, Taiwan is the world¡¯s 22nd-largest economy with a GDP of $803 billion and ranks 14th in per capita purchasing-power-parity terms. Taiwan¡¯s GDP per capita in PPP terms stood at $73,000 last year, compared to just $3,500 in 1980.
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