Taipei [Taiwan], March 15 (ANI): United States Congressional-Executive Commission on China, Chris Smith voiced his support for Taiwan and called on America to eliminate double taxation between the two nations in a meeting with Taipei Representative to the US Hsiao Bi-khim, according to Focus Taiwan.

"Taiwanese investors pay three times the tax rate on dividends compared to investors from China, which gets even more preferential treatment than our allies Australia and South Korea," Smith said in a statement.

According to Smith, it is unreasonable that Taiwanese investors are penalised with double taxation, especially when Taiwan is investing to manufacture semiconductors in the US.

Last week Thursday, a statement released by the US Congressional-Executive Commission on China, where Smith cited the example that while investors from China are buying farmland near strategically-sensitive locations, Taiwan is investing roughly USD40 billion to build semiconductor factories in the US, reported Focus Taiwan.

Taiwna's top envoy Hsiao Bi-khim met Chris Smith and discussed a number of issues relating to Taiwan's security needs and the Chinese Communist Party's security threats.

"The US should be disincentivising investment from Communist China while encouraging investment from democratic Taiwan-not the other way around," he said.

Discussing Taiwan's security needs and the Chinese Communist Party's security threats, Smith said, "Taiwan is a beacon of freedom and a great strategic partner who respects human rights and shares our values and aspirations."During the meeting, he said the US must stand firmly with Taiwan to counter the growing threat posed by the communist regime under Chinese President Xi Jinping, not only to Taiwan but also to US national security.

Meanwhile, he also personally thanked Taiwan for its donation of 300,000 medical masks to New Jersey residents in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Focus Taiwan reported.

The Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Offices in the US and in New York assisted quickly after he contacted them amid a dire mask shortage in the state in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Smith said.

"The people of Taiwan were there for us when we were facing the worst of COVID-19, and we must have their backs in their own time of need," Smith added. (ANI)