Taiwan is courting closer ties with Europe, a positive sign for Taipei as it seeks friends against pressure from China.

• Taiwan's foreign ministry hosted parliamentary staff from 12 European countries, including Germany, France, Poland and the UK, for a week-long visit.
• Taiwan says deeper cooperation with Europe is key to defending democracy, prosperity and security against authoritarian expansion.
• Officials pointed to Taiwan's strong economy, with first-quarter growth near 14%, as proof of its resilience.
• Taiwan credited its chip industry success to close ties with the Netherlands, France, Germany and Belgium, and wants to build on that.
• The visiting delegation backed working more closely with Taiwan on the economy, technology and security, calling out economic coercion by authoritarian states.

Outlook: Expect Taiwan and Europe to keep expanding exchanges on digital governance, chips and security, likely irritating Beijing.