Taiwan president to visit US; Biden administration tells China not to overreact

As Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen plans to visit Guatemala and Belize and stop in the U.S. along the way, the Biden administration is reminding China that Tsai's stops in New York and California are unofficial, merely stopovers, and in line with recent precedent.

The trip will begin on March 29 and last ten days and nine nights, according to the Taiwan government's Central News Agency. The visit is being billed as a "Democratic Partnership for Common Prosperity Journey."

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© Provided by Washington Examiner Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen delivers a speech during National Day celebrations in front of the Presidential Building in Taipei, Taiwan, Sunday, Oct. 10, 2021. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying) Chiang Ying-ying/AP

Tsai is expected to meet with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) when passing through California, and she will also deliver a speech at the Reagan Library outside of Los Angeles, per CNA.

Tsai's visit to its Central American-friendly countries comes as other Latin American countries, such as Honduras most recently, have flipped diplomatic ties from Taiwan to China. The news also comes as Chinese leader Xi Jinping meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin, exacerbating already tense ties between the U.S. and the south Asian giant. It was Xi's first visit to Russia since Putin invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

Senior U.S. officials in Washington and Beijing have reportedly underscored to their Chinese counterparts in recent weeks that transit visits through the U.S. during broader international travel by the Taiwanese president have been routine in recent years, according to a senior administration official.

In such visits in recent years, Tsai has met with members of Congress. The Taiwanese leader traveled through the United States six times between 2016 and 2019, according to the Associated Press, before slowing international travel due to the coronavirus pandemic. China expressed disapproval of both the U.S. and Taiwan after those visits.

Then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) visited Taiwan last year, making her the highest-ranking elected U.S. official to visit the island since then-Speaker Newt Gingrich in 1997. After Pelosi's visit, which China saw as a violation of its sovereignty, Beijing flexed its muscles, launching missiles over Taiwan, deploying warships across the median line of the Taiwan Strait, and carrying out military exercises near the island.

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McCarthy, who has been vocal in his support for Taiwan, vowed to visit the island prior to obtaining the speaker’s gavel. It is unclear if he still will after meeting with Tsai on U.S. soil.

Officials are in talks with China about possible visits by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo focused on economic matters, the White House announced on Monday. Biden has also said he expects to soon hold a call with Jinping.

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Tags: Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen, China, News, Kevin McCarthy

Original Author: Conrad Hoyt

Original Location: Taiwan president to visit US; Biden administration tells China not to overreact