The Prime Mover of Taiwan’s Trade With Russia and its Development

Abstract: After a fifty yearlong period of political hostility, Taiwan perceived the fall of Soviet Union as an opportunity to establish Russia as a prime trade partner. Given Russia’s relationship with China and its importance in promoting Taiwan’s international status, the road was paved with many obstacles. Scholars argue that Taiwan deploys its trade diplomacy in order to promote its national awareness as a sovereign entity. Therefore, the economic rapprochement with Russia was regarded as being politically motivated. This project aims to empirically test this hypothesis by the use of the gravity model of trade, in order to simulate the trade potential between Russia and Taiwan; and thus determine the rational behind Taiwan’s trade strategy in relation to Russia.