TAIPEI: A former U.S. senator and two former U.S. deputy secretaries of state have arrived in Taiwan, leading the first unofficial delegation sent by President Biden amid tensions with Beijing over the future of the self-governing island.
Christopher J. Dodd, a former Democratic senator from Connecticut, and former senior State Department officials Richard Armitage and James Steinberg played in Taipei Wednesday afternoon, local time, Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry said.
During their three-day stay, the U.S. delegation will dine with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and Foreign Minister and discuss bilateral relations, the Taiwanese side said. Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported on Wednesday that Taiwanese officials would report to the U.S. delegation on China’s recent provocations against the island and the entire region and call for greater trade support from Washington. , security and economy.
The U.S. High Delegation arrived in Taiwan hours before John Kerry, the Biden administration’s special envoy for climate change, visits Shanghai to discuss cooperation on climate issues with Beijing. Kerry said in an interview that Washington’s pursuit of climate cooperation with China would not mean engaging in other points of contention with Beijing, a list that includes Taiwan.
Visits to Taiwan by senior officials associated with the U.S. government, including former officials, are hypersensitive to Beijing, which sees Taiwan as part of Chinese territory and has been increasingly aggressive in its stance toward ‘island.