Taiwan and the United States have held their first high-level meetings under a new economic dialogue, inking a five-year agreement and pledging future cooperation on health, tech, and security.

The talks, held amid a contentious US presidential transition period and high regional tensions with China, did not advance Taiwan’s hopes for a trade deal with US, despite the two countries growing closer under Donald Trump and his pushback on Beijing.

They were led by Taiwan’s deputy minister of economic affairs, Chen Chern-chyi, and US undersecretary of state, Keith Krach, with the stated aim of building on historic ties and “shared democratic values”, and senior government officials met for the first time on Friday, signing an five-year memorandum of understanding.

The parties established working groups on global health security, science and technology, 5G and telecommunications security, supply chains, women’s economic empowerment, infrastructure cooperation, and investment.

Officials said the talks emphasized the potential for cooperation on health research and development, the prioritization of Taiwan’s contribution to the semiconductor supply chain. The MOU does not create legally binding rights or obligations on either party, and is subject to available resources.

The two sides ’representatives detailed few specific commitments on Saturday, instead announcing expectations and aspirations for the future bilateral partnership. But Taiwan hopes the meetings will develop into something more concrete, like a trade deal.

A US-Taiwan trade deal has bipartisan US support, but president-elect Joe Biden has not publicly announced his intentions for his China policy. He is seen as a proponent of multilateral solutions which has driven some concern in Taiwan that he may seek to re-engage with Beijing.

On Saturday, Taiwan’s foreign minister Joseph Wu said it was “premature” to count out support from Biden’s team for a trade deal.

“I think the team is busy dealing with the transition,” he told media.

“I don’t think they already have a pre-conclusion on a [bilateral trade agreement] or a [free trade agreement] which says it’s not what they want to pursue. I think the bipartisan support on Capitol Hill is still very strong and I think it will continue, and we will work hard under the [existing bilateral] framework with the new administration. "

Natasha Kassam, a research fellow with the Lowy Institute, said it wasn't surprising the trade talks were on the back burner, but “even the symbolism of these high-level economic talks and resulting MOU is valuable to President Tsai, and is another signal to Beijing that US support for Taiwan continues to grow ”.

Taiwan Economic Prosperity Partnership (EPP) Dialogue has identified the semiconductor industry as the two countries' top priority in economic cooperation, according to Minister without Portfolio John Deng (鄧振中) on Saturday.

Deng, who is in charge of the unprecedented high-level talks held in Washington D.C. this week, said both sides have confirmed that strategic cooperation in the semiconductor industry is a priority, given its potential to generate significant and long-term benefits for both economies.

Deng was speaking at a press conference after the 9-hour discussions that concluded at 3 a.m. Saturday (Taipei time).

The fact that the world's biggest contract chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), will invest in the U.S. has laid the foundation for bilateral cooperation in this field, added Economics Minister Wang Mei-hua (王美花), who joined Deng and other officials in the talks through video conference from Taipei.

In the future, both sides will capitalize on Taiwan's competitive advantage in high-end manufacturing and the U.S.' leading role in the industry, Wang said.

In addition, she said, Taiwan and the U.S. will cooperate on medical, energy, and other critical technology supply chains.

However, Deng said the talk, conducted through both virtual and physical meetings, with the latter held in Washington and joined by Deputy Economics Minister Chen Chern-chyi (陳正祺), did not touch on issues related to a possible bilateral trade agreement (BTA).

The BTA, which has received much attention recently particularly after the Taiwanese government decided to lift the ban against U.S. pork containing the leanness-enhancing additive ractopamine in an attempt to pave the way for an eventual trade deal with the U.S., will be discussed through a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) platform, Deng explained.

The EPP Dialogue also generated a memorandum of understanding-- signed between the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the U.S.-- that will lay the groundwork for future high-level annual EPP Dialogues, said Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮).

"There will be institutionalized government-to-government economic talks that will continue regardless of administration change," Wu said.