China’s fury with the Trump administration took another great leap forward on Tuesday when the Department of Health and Human Services announced that Secretary Alex Azar will soon visit Taiwan.

Viewing Taiwan as a breakaway province requiring reattachment under the Communist Party flag, China sees Azar’s trip as Washington would have seen a Chinese cabinet officer visiting and praising the Confederacy during the Civil War. In turn, Beijing’s Global Times propaganda outlet on Wednesday warned that “upgrading [United States]-Taiwan ties by ‘salami tactics’ is a dangerous move, and being a pawn in the U.S. hard-line strategy toward China will lead the island of Taiwan to unbearable disaster. The mainland has many cards, including the military card. More importantly, it is much more determined to play the cards than Washington.”