TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The government is presenting the first balanced budget in 22 years, proving it values fiscal discipline, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇振昌) said Friday (September 20).

The leader of the Cabinet made the remarks as the Legislative Yuan reviewed the central government budget for 2020 on Friday. Both sides of the ledger, both spending and the income, showed a figure of about NT$2.1 trillion (US$67.8 billion), the Liberty Times reported.

While intensifying trade dispute casts a cloud of uncertainty over the global economy, Taiwan had been able to benefit from companies investing in the island to avoid the fallout from the trade war between the United States and China, Su said. He pointed out that new technologies such as 5G and artificial intelligence (AI) would also give the Taiwanese economy a boost.

The premier said he sees the positive trends lasting well into the next year, mentioning wind energy as another key element of the economic picture.

Su emphasized that the first balanced budget since 1999 had come about despite continuing government investment in large-scale projects to improve the public’s standard of living, the Liberty Times reported.