Relationship dossier
France
Taiwan
Relationship assessment
Practical cooperation within the limits of France’s one-China policy
France toward Taiwan
+15France has supplied Taiwan with major arms, including frigates and Mirage 2000 aircraft in the early 1990s. It also maintains unofficial economic, scientific and cultural engagement with Taiwan, while adhering to its one-China policy and not recognizing Taiwan diplomatically.
Taiwan toward France
+15Taiwan maintains practical economic, scientific and cultural engagement with France. A 2018 scientific cooperation arrangement involving Taiwan’s science ministry and France’s CNRS provided a framework for research collaboration.
Overall relationship
+15The relationship combines practical economic and scientific cooperation with a significant political constraint: France adheres to its one-China policy and does not maintain formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Major French arms sales to Taiwan in the early 1990s demonstrate direct government cooperation, while the unofficial framework limits the scope of political ties.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
France and Taiwan maintain substantial unofficial economic, scientific and cultural engagement, while France adheres to its one-China policy and does not maintain formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. French arms sales to Taiwan in the early 1990s were a major instance of direct government cooperation. The relationship is therefore cooperative in practical areas but constrained in its official political framework.
Key developments
France sold frigates to Taiwan and later supplied Mirage 2000 aircraft, major instances of direct defense cooperation.
A scientific cooperation arrangement involving Taiwan’s science ministry and France’s CNRS established a framework for research collaboration.
Major uncertainties
- The current scope and implementation of bilateral scientific and economic cooperation are unclear.
- The extent of recent French government support for Taiwan's international participation is unclear.