The United States tells China that stopping the Taiwan president is nothing new

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is spreading word that it expected a pause in the United States by Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen. It would go with the recent precedent and should not be used by China as an excuse to intensify aggressive activity in the Taiwan Strait.

In recent weeks, senior U.S. officials in Washington and Beijing have assured their Chinese counterparts that transit visits across the United States during the Taiwanese president’s broader international travel have been routine over the years, according to a senior administration official. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter.

On such unofficial visits in recent years, Tsai has met with members of Congress and the Taiwanese diaspora and has been welcomed by the president of the American Institute in Taiwan, a nonprofit organization run by the US government that maintains unofficial relations with Taiwan. The official added that the impending halt was “nothing new” and in line with long-standing US policy.

Taiwan’s president’s office confirmed on Tuesday that Tsai is tentatively scheduled to transit through New York on March 30 before heading on to Guatemala and Belize. She is expected to stop in Los Angeles on April 5 on her way back to Taiwan. The office did not provide details of her itinerary while in the United States

Tsai crossed the United States six times between 2016 and 2019 before international travel was slowed by the coronavirus pandemic. In reaction to those visits, China verbally criticized the United States and Taiwan.

The Biden administration is trying to avoid repeating the harsh response from China that came after then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. last year.

After Pelosi’s visit in August, Beijing launched missiles over Taiwan, deployed warships across the middle line of the Taiwan Strait and conducted military exercises near the island. Beijing has also suspended climate talks with the United States and restricted military contacts with the Pentagon.

Beijing sees formal US contact with Taiwan as encouragement to make the island’s decades-old de facto independence permanent, a move US leaders say they do not support. Pelosi, D-Calif., was the highest-ranking elected US official to visit the island since House Speaker Newt Gingrich in 1997. Under the “One China” policyThe United States recognizes Beijing as the government of China and has no diplomatic relations with Taiwan, but has confirmed that Taipei is an important partner in the Indo-Pacific region.

US officials are increasingly concerned about China’s long-stated goals of uniting Taiwan with the mainland and the possibility of war over Taiwan. Beijing claims the self-governing island democracy as part of its territory. The Taiwan Relations Act of 1979, which governs US relations with the island, does not require the US to intervene militarily in the event of an invasion by China, but makes it US policy to ensure that Taiwan has the resources to defend itself and prevent any unilateral change of status through Beijing.

Difficult relations between the United States and China have become more complicated since Pelosi’s visit.

Last month, President Joe Biden ordered a Chinese spy balloon to be launched from the sky Having traversed the continental United States. The Biden administration has said in recent weeks that US intelligence findings show that China is weighing in sending weapons Russia for its ongoing war in Ukrainebut has no evidence to suggest that Beijing decided to pursue supplying Moscow.

The Biden administration has postponed a planned visit by Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Beijing in the wake of the balloon controversy, but has indicated it would like to get that visit back on track.

Also on Monday, the White House said officials were in talks with China about possible visits by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, focusing on economic issues. Biden also said he expects to have a call soon with China’s Xi Jinping.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said “keeping those lines of communication open” is still valuable.

Presidents Vladimir Putin and Xi met in Moscow On Monday, it was the first face-to-face meeting between the allies since before Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine more than a year ago.

The Taiwanese government said earlier this month that Tsai plans to stop in New York and Southern California during an upcoming, wider international trip.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, said he will meet Tsai when she is in the United States and has not ruled out the possibility of traveling to Taiwan to show support.

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Journalist Johnson Lai in Taipei contributed to this report.

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This story has been corrected to show that China attacked the United States, not China.