This article was first published on Central European Institute of Asian Studies (CEIAS).
In recent years, Czechia has emerged as one of Taiwan’s closest partners in Europe and has been among the most active countries in engaging with the island democracy. Cooperation in semiconductors has particularly flourished and is poised to continue even after a skeptical government took charge in Prague.
Key takeaways:
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Czech-Taiwan semiconductor cooperation is starting to produce tangible results through investments in talent development and joint research, helping to attract Taiwanese high-tech companies to establish Czechia as a hub for their European operations.
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Czech companies are becoming increasingly integrated into Taiwan-linked semiconductor supply chains, both in Europe and Taiwan.
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While high-level political engagement may decline under the new government, institutional cooperation between universities and research institutes as well as people-to-people contacts between businesses and civil society is likely to continue and carry the relationship forward.
Semiconductors as the new anchor in Czech-China ties
Ties between Czechia and Taiwan trace back to the 1990s, built on ideational links between young democracies and early Taiwanese investment spearheaded by Taiwan electronics companies such as Foxconn. Since the landmark 2020 visit of Senate Speaker Miloš Vystrčil, high-level exchanges between Prague and Taipei have become increasingly frequent, providing impetus for new cooperation projects across technology, culture, and education.
In December 2024, Czech and Taiwanese representatives signed an MoU to build industrial clusters and promote business opportunities in advanced technologies, especially semiconductors. This agreement paved the way for Taiwan to open its first overseas Trade and Investment Service Center in Prague, designed to help Taiwanese firms enter the Czech market. CzechInvest, in turn, opened a representative office in Taipei in 2024 to support incoming Taiwanese investment. In another high-level engagement, in September 2025, Minister for Science and Research Marek Ženíšek traveled to Taiwan to launch the Czech Pavilion at SEMICON Taiwan 2025.
In early June 2026, Senate Speaker Vystrčil visited the island again, accompanied by a business delegation seeking to strengthen and extend existing commercial ties. The visit became a point of contention between the government and the opposition after Prime Minister Andrej Babiš refused to provide a government aircraft for the trip. Babiš justified the decision by citing costs and arguing that maintaining relations with Taiwan could harm economic relations with China. The new government, which came to power in December 2024, has signaled a pivot toward a more pragmatic foreign policy, arguing that the “value-based” approach pursued by the previous governments has delivered few tangible benefits.
Yet, developments on the ground suggest otherwise. As a direct result of this engagement, Taiwan is helping to support Czechia’s semiconductor ambitions by providing talent training, knowledge transfer, and stimulating exchanges between academia and industry. Moreover, Taiwanese investments in the sector are also emerging.
From talent development to investments
Taiwan has supported the establishment of three semiconductor-related centers in Czechia over the last three years. A joint chip research center was founded in Prague through a collaboration between the Czech Technical University and the Taiwan Semiconductor Research Institute, part of the National Center for High-Performance Computing under Taiwan’s Ministry of Science and Technology.
The joint center aims to establish joint Czech-Taiwanese research teams in the field of semiconductors and integrated circuits, and to support the development of concrete joint research projects with the potential to generate international scientific outputs, patents, and technological applications.
The Supply Chain Resilience Center was opened at Charles University in cooperation with National Chengchi University, focusing on research into skilled labor availability, semiconductor manufacturing capacity, and the sustainability implications of chip production, including environmental and climate-related impacts.
Finally, the Advanced Chip Design and Research Center was conceived as a joint project among Taiwan’s National Institute of Applied Research, the Czech CyberSecurity Hub, and Czech universities. Its activities and projects include educational programs such as workshops, summer schools, on-site training in Taiwan, student exchanges, and research projects in chip design and semiconductor technologies.
The initial cooperation in “soft” measures, including talent development and research, appears to have given an impetus to Taiwanese investments as well. The design center in Brno was, according to its director, Jiří Háze, crucial in attracting Taiwanese firms to Czechia. A Taiwanese company, Jmem Tek, providing semiconductor security solutions for artificial intelligence, defense applications, and critical infrastructure, is opening a chip security center in Brno, its first office in Europe. Another Taiwanese company, Light Momentum Technology, a semiconductor startup specializing in automotive integrated-circuit design, is also considering establishing operations in Czechia. Downstream in the supply chain, Foxconn is set to ramp up its production of AI servers in Czechia. Semiconductor cooperation is also relevant to the defense industry, especially in drones, where Czechia has become the world’s largest importer of Taiwanese drones.
Looking beyond fabs
Domestically, the fact that neighboring Saxony, rather than Czechia, was chosen as the site of TSMC’s first fab in Europe despite the high-level engagement with Taiwan became a contentious topic, even though attracting the investment was never a realistic goal for Prague. The real opportunities lie in the broader supply chain, and results are already emerging.
i-TRANS Express, a company specializing in the transportation of hazardous chemicals, plans to build a European logistics center for semiconductor chemicals in the Ústí region near the border with Saxony, Europe’s most important semiconductor hub. The project represents an investment exceeding USD 19 million and is expected to become operational in 2028. The region of Ústí benefits from a long-standing tradition of chemical production for the semiconductor sector and a strategic location near Germany. Negotiations have recently concluded for another Taiwanese investment in the region — KoMiCo will build a facility specializing in cleaning and surface treatment of semiconductor components.
While political support is important, it would not be enough if the Taiwanese companies did not see a business case in investing in the country, as they are noted for their pragmatism in investment decisions. The structural position of Czechia, deeply embedded in German-centered supply chains, is a key factor for Taiwanese companies seeking to establish a presence in Europe. Czechia’s advantage lies in its geographical position and lower labor costs, giving it a comparative advantage.
Taiwan is also increasing its financing offer to support bilateral cooperation. Under Taiwania Capital’s CEE (Central and Eastern Europe) fund established in 2022, Taiwan offered €170 million for investment in the region, including Czechia. Three Czech tech companies (Vrgineers, Daytrip, Supernova) have already attracted investments from the fund. During Vystrčil’s June visit, a new dedicated €43 million fund was announced, designed to support Taiwanese companies entering the Czech market, Czech companies in Taiwan, and Taiwan-Czech joint ventures.
Beyond Taiwanese investments in Czechia, the bilateral relationship is also increasingly defined by the role Czech companies play in Taiwan-related semiconductor supply chains. Czech electron microscopes from Thermo Fisher or Tescan, specialized furnace systems from SVCS Process Innovation, laser technologies from HilASE and ELI Beamlines, or Inference Technologies, which provides predictive analytics platforms capable of forecasting yield and defect trends in semiconductor fabrication facilities, provide niche but essential inputs to tech giants such as TSMC or Nvidia. Most recently, another Czech company, DG Solutions, involved in semiconductor packaging, announced its expansion in Taiwan.
The cooperation with Taiwan in semiconductors is not evolving in a vacuum. There is both a political demand and an economic rationale for growing links in the sector, as Taiwan seeks to maintain its leading position in front-end production and Europe seeks to boost the resilience and innovativeness of its semiconductor sector.
Momentum holds despite Prague’s leadership change
Despite the current Czech government’s plans to “standardize” relations with Beijing and reduce the political visibility of ties with Taiwan, cooperation on the ground is likely to continue. While we will not see any high-level visits from the current administration and less political backing for new initiatives, particularly in politically sensitive sectors, many of the key channels of cooperation have already been institutionalized. Furthermore, Babiš’s foreign affairs adviser, Hynek Kmoníček, emphasized that the newly formed Czech cabinet “is not abandoning our positions with Taiwan,” citing the importance of Taiwan in the semiconductor sector.
At the same time, Taiwan is interested in showing that investing political capital into developing relations with Taiwan can deliver practical results. It likely wants to avoid the repeat of the situation in Lithuania, where expectations of tapping into new economic opportunities in cooperation with Taiwan were largely unfulfilled after Vilnius allowed Taiwan to open its office under the “Taiwan” name.
High-level political engagement was instrumental in creating momentum and facilitating scientific and technological cooperation between Czechia and Taiwan. Yet the foundations of the relationship now rest on a dense network of partnerships between universities, research institutes, businesses, and civil society organizations. These connections are likely to endure beyond the current electoral cycle.