Your Gateway to Trade with Taiwan

The Taipei World Trade Center was initiated by the China External Trade Development Council (CETRA), to provide "a single, modern venue that would combine exhibition space, conference facilities, offices, and hotel accommodation for international business".

Construction of the TWTC was completed in 1985, opening soon afterward in 19861. The four-building complex is comprised of The Exhibition Hall, International Convention Center, International Trade Building, and Grand Hyatt hotel. The TWTC provides a combination of services, such as consulting on trade-related issues, trading partners, suppliers and markets. It is the place to be in Asia (perhaps the world) to get in touch with import/export opportunities, local and overseas investment, and the latest direction in technology transfer. According to CETRA, this will serve as a model for global trade centers.

International Convention Center
The seven-story convention center, which has more than one million visitors per year, has a total of 163,000 square meters. It is designed to accomodate both short-term trade shows and permanent product displays. The center hosts the Taipei International Trade Shows, as well as leasing space to organizations for their own exhibitions.

The International Trade Mart, located on the upper levels, serves to highlight top products and suppliers for permanent display. With a total of 1,052 showrooms and 1,467 booths, it is the largest collection of sample products under one roof in Asia. Because of heavy demand for space, a second exhibition hall was built, with construction finishing in November, 19992. It is located next to the Taipei Financial Center and Warner Village.

International Convention Center
The TICC has been designed to maximize functionality and flexibility, with over 60,000 square meters of indoor space that can be adapted into many spacial configurations. It boasts the ability for translation in many languages simultaneously, and welcomes a diverse range of events, "no matter how unconventional". The TICC opened in 1990, and has hosted such major international events such as the the ICCA General Assembly, World Congress on Information Technology, Lions Club, Rotary International, and Kiwanis International.

International Trade Building
One of the most modern structures in Taiwan, this 34-story office building contains the headquarters of CETRA, and offices from leading organizations from around the globe. Extensive trade and information services provided by CETRA are concentrated on the 4th and 5th floors. The top two floors belong to the "TWTC Club", part of the World Trade Centers Association international club network.

Grand Hyatt
The Taipei Grand Hyatt has 856 guest rooms and suites, 6 restaurants offering a variety of culinary choices, and easy access to the shopping, entertainment, and business districts of the city. There is a temperature-controlled swimming pool with underwater stereo sound, a fully equipped gymnasium, aerobics studio, and massage programs available.

This four-in-one complex is designed to accommodate the needs of the international business community, which is why there is not just one, but four structures at the TWTC.

It appears that the United States of America's heyday as the financial center of the world is coming to a close. With the construction of the quad towers finishing 15 years before the destruction of the twin towers, coinciding with the Reagan and Bush administrations, it is clear that there is an ominous connection to Asia that is being masked (at least in the media) by threats of terrorism and convenient power blackouts. I find the logo at the top left corner of the TWTC website3 depicting Eurasia, Eastasia, and Oceania particularly interesting.

1This was around the time of the Iran-Contra Scandal, when former ambassador to China, George Bush was vice-president of the USA in the Reagan administration. This was when negotiations began to attempt to bring China into the World Trade Organization.
2China concluded a key agreement with the United States on November 15, 1999, paving the way for its accession into the WTO.

Sources:
3http://www.twtc.org.tw/
http://ezgo.taipei-elife.net/homepage/english/showonesign.asp?site=Taipei%20World%20Trade%20Center%20(TWTC)