The United Kingdom and Taiwan signed two agreements in London this week during the 28th annual UK-Taiwan Trade Talks. The new science and technology arrangement and a memorandum on export finance followed ministerial discussions and a series of meetings between officials and visiting business representatives.

Both governments said they intend to widen economic cooperation in digital trade, clean energy, space technology and advanced manufacturing. The talks are held each year and are the main formal channel for commercial dialogue between the two sides, which maintain unofficial relations.

Trade between the two economies reached £8.9 billion in 2025. That figure makes Taiwan the sixth-largest UK trading partner in the Asia-Pacific region, a position that has given both delegations a practical basis for seeking further growth.

The first agreement concerns export finance. UK Export Finance and Taiwan EximBank signed a memorandum of understanding intended to create joint export credit opportunities and support commercial investment. Export credit agencies typically provide insurance, guarantees and loans that allow companies to sell goods and services abroad with reduced financial risk. By agreeing to coordinate, the two bodies aim to make it easier for British and Taiwanese firms to work together on projects in third markets as well as in each other's economies. The memorandum does not set a funding figure, and further detail is expected to emerge as the agencies identify specific transactions.

The second agreement is a science, innovation and technology arrangement. It links the UK Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade with Taiwan's National Science and Technology Council. The document provides a framework for joint research, development and the setting of technical standards.

Priority areas include semiconductors and photonics, where Taiwan holds a dominant position in chip fabrication and the UK retains strengths in chip design and compound semiconductor research. The arrangement also covers space technologies and next-generation telecommunications. A further strand addresses the transition to net zero and the development of standards for the governance of artificial intelligence. Standards work is often slow, but agreement between two significant technology economies can shape the rules that later apply more widely.

Officials on both sides described the arrangement as a pairing of complementary capabilities. British universities and design firms contribute research depth and intellectual property. Taiwanese manufacturers contribute hardware expertise, production capacity and experience of scaling new products quickly. Much of the semiconductor supply chain already depends on that division of labour, and the arrangement gives it a government-backed structure for the first time in this form.

Alongside the formal signings, UK trade officials met a Taiwanese business delegation visiting London. The discussions centred on direct investment in the UK market and on partnerships between Taiwanese manufacturers and British research institutions. Companies in the delegation were able to put questions to officials about regulation, access to public funding and the planning conditions that affect industrial sites. No investment totals were announced at the meetings.

The agreements sit within the wider UK-Taiwan Enhanced Trade Partnership, which was established to sustain trade, cultural and educational links in the absence of formal diplomatic recognition. That partnership has served as the framework for annual talks since its creation and continues to define what each government can sign. Documents such as the new science arrangement are therefore drafted as technical and commercial instruments, consistent with the UK's long-standing one-China policy, under which London maintains official ties with Beijing and unofficial ones with Taipei.

The practical effect of the two agreements will depend on implementation. The export finance memorandum requires the two agencies to bring forward qualifying projects. The science arrangement relies on funding decisions by each side and on researchers choosing to apply for joint programmes. Both governments are expected to review progress at the next round of talks, which will take place in Taipei.

For now, the 28th round has given the relationship two new working frameworks and a larger set of sectors in which officials can pursue concrete projects. The coming year will show how many of them produce contracts and published research.

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