The president of Taiwan will stop over in the U.S. on her way to Latin America, but won’t say whether she’ll visit with President-elect Trump.
The American Institute in Taiwan said the visit would be “private and unofficial,” and a Trump adviser whom Reuters didn’t identify by name said he thought “further high-level engagement for the foreseeable future is unlikely” when asked if any meetings were planned with President Tsai Ing-wen.
The news prompted China’s Foreign Ministry to call for the U.S. to ban the transit and ensure it doesn’t send any “wrong signals to Taiwan independence forces.”
“We think everyone is very clear on her real intentions,” the ministry said.
Trump recently angered Chinese officials when he spoke with Tsai earlier this month, breaking from decades of precedent. China is wary of Tsai, believing she has ambitions to push for the formal independent of Taiwan, and for years has harbored resentment against the self-governing island.
The American Institute in Taiwan, the U.S. mission there, has said that contrary to claims from China, allowing the transit will not contradict Beijing’s “One China” policy.
Tsai plans to pass through Houston on Jan. 7 and San Francisco on Jan. 13 en transit to and from Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala and El Salvador. Trump is inaugurated into office on Jan. 20.
