China reiterates opposition to any likely transits to US by Taiwan president

BEIJING: China's foreign ministry on Tuesday (July 15) reiterated its opposition to any likely transits to the United States by Taiwan President Lai Ching-te, who will most likely stop over in the country while on a visit to Paraguay next month.

AI Brief

China strongly opposes any official contact between the US and Taiwan.
Taiwan's president plans a stopover in the US en route to Paraguay, one of its few formal allies.
Though unofficial, these US visits are critical due to strong US-Taiwan ties, especially in defense.

"China firmly opposes any form of official interaction between the U.S. and Taiwan. We resolutely oppose the leader of the Taiwan authorities visiting the U.S. under any name or for any reason," ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said at a regular news briefing.

Paraguay is one of only 12 countries to maintain formal diplomatic ties with Chinese-claimed Taiwan, and the only one in South America.

Visits by Taiwanese presidents to Central and South America always involve what are officially only stopovers in the United States given the distance from Taiwan, but are often the most important parts of the trip given Washington is the island's top international backer and arms supplier.