On Tuesday, China issued a warning to U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, cautioning him against "repeating disastrous past mistakes" by meeting with Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen. Beijing stated that such a meeting would not promote regional peace and stability but would instead unite the Chinese people against a shared adversary.
As the third-highest-ranking U.S. leader, McCarthy, a Republican, is scheduled to host a meeting with Tsai in California on Wednesday during her sensitive stopover in the United States. This has provoked threats of retaliation from China, which claims Taiwan as its territory. Last August, China conducted military exercises near the island following then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taipei.
While Tsai's trip to Los Angeles is officially termed a "transit" en route to Central America, China's consulate in Los Angeles has denounced this description, asserting that Tsai is participating in official exchanges and staging a "political show." The consulate warned that regardless of McCarthy's capacity during the meeting, it would deeply offend the Chinese people, encourage Taiwan's separatist forces, and undermine the foundation of Sino-U.S. relations.
The consulate statement emphasized that McCarthy's actions would not be conducive to regional peace, security, or stability and would not serve the common interests of China and the United States. It accused McCarthy of disregarding the lessons learned from Pelosi's visit to Taipei and insisted on exploiting the "Taiwan card."
In response to the situation, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told reporters in Beijing on Tuesday that China would vigilantly and resolutely defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity while closely monitoring developments. However, he did not provide further details.
Despite the absence of unusual Chinese movements around Taiwan leading up to the meeting, China's military has continued its activities in the area. Taiwan's defense ministry reported that it had detected nine Chinese military aircraft in its air defense identification zone within the past 24 hours.
Taiwan's foreign ministry countered China's grievances by stating that the People's Republic of China has never governed the island and thus has no grounds for complaint. It criticized China's objections to Tsai's trip as "increasingly absurd" and declared that Taiwan would not yield to an authoritarian regime despite continued expansion and coercion.
