Taiwan is calling for a free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union.

Taiwan's Vice Economics Minister Francis Liang made the remarks on Tuesday. He was talking to European Union Deputy Director-General for External Relations João Aguiar Machado in Taipei.

Liang said that it's not just European businesses which have urged their governments to sign FTAs with Taiwan. He said that Japanese and American firms have done so as well.

Meanwhile, Washington-based think tank the Heritage Foundation has issued a report saying that Taiwan should focus on signing a trade pact not only with China but with India as well.

The report said that Taiwan's expanding trade with China was beneficial to regional security. It also said the US and other countries should sign trade agreements with Taiwan.