Business missions to Taiwan have a twenty-nine-year history. This year's mission has something to build on and the potential to open up entirely new areas of Czech-Taiwanese cooperation. This mission to the Republic of Korea and Taiwan has been the largest since 2017. Such a great response only confirms that both countries are interesting for Czech entrepreneurs and have huge potential.

Taiwan is betting on innovations. These in the field of ICT also represent a new potential for Czech-Taiwanese cooperation, especially in the area of quantum computing, i.e. the use of quantum computers for calculations that are difficult for conventional computers and supercomputers. Quantum computers work on the basis of quantum mechanics, and data in them are not represented by bits but by so-called quantum bits, which can be zero, one, or a combination of both. Their completely different way of working opens up new possibilities for use in many fields.

In the Czech Republic, work is beginning to build a competence center that would bring together universities such as the Czech Technical University, global leaders in quantum computing such as IBM, and companies not only from the Czech Republic but also from Taiwan, for example, which would work together in one center to create concrete possibilities for the use of quantum computing. This type of cooperation could open a new chapter in innovation cooperation and bring tangible results for all companies involved.
This year, which has been unofficially designated as the year of export promotion and economic diplomacy, entrepreneurs have already been to Vietnam, Malaysia, India, and missions are being prepared to Japan, Chile, Uruguay, the USA, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan.

Milena Jabůrková
Vice President of the Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic