China has expressed its disapproval of Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen’s stopover in the US, with a Chinese official warning that they will “fight back”. Tsai has praised the relationship between Taiwan and the US during her visit, which is a “transit” on her way to Central America. In a closed-door speech in New York, Tsai stated that the relationship between Washington and Taipei was “closer than ever” and highlighted “significant progress” in economic and security cooperation. She also referred to Taiwan as a “beacon of democracy in Asia” and stated that the island would not be isolated despite the “enormous challenges” it faced. The event was attended by New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and Laura Rosenberger, chair of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), which operates the de facto US embassy in Taiwan.
Tsai is due to speak at a Hudson Institute think tank event on Thursday, but all events are set to be closed to the press and public. The stopover comes as Tsai travels to Central America, where she will attempt to shore up support in Guatemala and Belize, part of a shrinking group of countries that recognise Taipei’s sovereignty from Beijing. She is also scheduled to pass through Los Angeles, California, on her way home next week, where she is rumoured to be meeting with US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
Tsai’s trip comes days after Honduras established ties with Beijing and ended its recognition of Taiwan, leaving the island with only 13 allies that maintain formal diplomatic ties. Beijing maintains that Taiwan belongs to “one China” and that, as a Chinese province, it has no right to state-to-state ties. Washington has not officially recognised Taiwan since it normalised ties with Beijing in 1979. However, the US remains an important ally, providing military training and equipment to the island.
White House national security spokesperson John Kirby sought to downplay the transit’s significance to avoid tensions with China. He billed her trip as “consistent with our longstanding unofficial relationship with Taiwan”. Daniel Kritenbrink, the top US diplomat for East Asia, also noted that Tsai had transited through the US six times previously “without incident”. Still, Beijing has condemned Tsai’s stop in the US. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson Zhu Fenglian said on Wednesday that, if Tsai met with McCarthy, China would “definitely take measures to resolutely fight back”.
Xu Xueyuan, the charge d’affaires of China’s embassy to Washington, also told reporters on Wednesday that the US risked “serious confrontation” should its leaders meet with Tsai. Referencing a visit then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made to Taiwan in 2022, Xu warned against other US politicians following her example and meeting with Tsai. Pelosi’s Taiwan trip last year prompted Beijing to stage several days of military exercises and fire missiles into the Taiwan Strait. She was the highest-ranking US official to visit Taiwan in 25 years.
The anticipated meeting between McCarthy and Tsai in California has been framed as less diplomatically fraught than Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan. However, such a meeting would represent the first time a Taiwanese leader has met with a House Speaker on US soil. As of Thursday, Taipei said the New York stopover had not triggered any unusual military actions by China.