The office of US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has confirmed that the Republican leader will meet with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in California this week.
McCarthy’s office said Monday the speaker will host a “bipartite meeting” with Tsai on Wednesday, who will be touring the US on his way back to Taiwan.
The visit to California will be the second of two stops for Tsai in the US on his way to and from Central America. Last week, on her way to visit diplomatic allies in Guatemala and Belize, Tsai made a stopover in New York, where she spoke for the Hudson Institute think tank.
“On Wednesday, April 5, Speaker Kevin McCarthy will host a bipartisan meeting with the President of Taiwan at Ronald Reagan’s Presidential Library,” McCarthy’s office said Monday. The library is located 64 km (40 mi) from downtown Los Angeles, California.
Beijing had objected to the meeting before confirming it, warning it would take “decisive measures” to protect Chinese sovereignty.
“There is only one China in the world and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China. As the Chinese side has repeatedly emphasized, we strongly oppose any form of official interaction and contact between the US side and the Taiwanese authorities,” Mao Ning, spokesman for China’s foreign ministry, said earlier on Monday.
Washington, which views Beijing as its biggest global competitor, had urged China not to “overreact” to Tsai’s US plans, describing her layover as “normal” transit traffic.
“This transit is consistent with our longstanding unofficial relationship with Taiwan, and it is consistent with the United States’ ‘One China’ policy, which remains unchanged,” the White House National Security Council spokesman said. John Kirby, last week.
Under the “One China” policy, the US recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in Beijing over the Republic of China (ROC) in Taipei as the sole and legitimate government of China.
But Washington takes no position on Taiwan’s sovereignty, claiming that the island’s future must be decided by peaceful means.
Only 13 countries maintain formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan after Honduras cut ties with the island in March. During her visit to Belize on Monday, Tsai thanked the Central American country for its continued support, saying it has “helped give a voice to Taiwan’s 23 million residents.”
She also denounced what she called “expansionist threats to authoritarian regimes”, a clear reference to China.
“The people of Taiwan are under constant threat from their neighbor across the Taiwan Strait,” she said.
The last time Tsai met with a senior US official was when then Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August 2022. But the visit sparked anger in Beijing, which organized war games off the coast of Taiwan in response.
Last week, the White House warned against similar moves following Tsai’s US tour. “The People’s Republic of China should not use this transit as a pretext to ramp up activities around the Taiwan Strait,” Kirby said.
The US does not officially recognize Taiwan, but has trade and security relations with the island.
“During transits across the US, the president engages in conversation with American friends, in keeping with past precedents,” Taiwan’s de facto embassy in Washington, DC, told Reuters news agency Monday.
In response to questions about McCarthy’s meeting with Tsai, the White House has said it cannot speak on behalf of the top Republican lawmaker or its agenda. Although McCarthy does not represent the administration of US President Joe Biden, the meeting is likely to further inflame tensions between Washington and Beijing.
Ties between the two countries have soured in recent years over numerous issues, including trade, Taiwan’s status, China’s claims in the South China Sea, and continued US pressure against growing Chinese influence in the Indo- pacific.
Ties between the two countries were further strained earlier this year when the US allegedly shot down a Chinese spy balloon passing over their territory.
China insisted the plane was a weather balloon that had strayed from its course and condemned the decision to shoot it down.