As the top Democrat in the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan was bound to provoke a reaction from China. And so it did, with Chinese officials warning that her trip could 'send the wrong message' and damage relations between Beijing and Washington.
Pelosi is the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit Taiwan in 40 years, and her trip comes at a time of heightened tensions between China and the United States. Beijing views Taiwan as a breakaway province that must be reunited with the mainland, while Washington sees it as a vital part of its security strategy in the Asia-Pacific region.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said Pelosi's visit 'sends a very wrong message to the world' and would have a negative impact on U.S.-China relations.
'We urge the relevant side in the United States to adhere to the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiques, and to handle Taiwan-related issues properly and cautiously,' Geng said at a daily press conference.
Pelosi is scheduled to meet with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on Saturday, and her office has said she will also meet with senior Taiwanese officials to discuss 'security, trade, and investment.'
The Chinese government considers Taiwan to be a part of its territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control. Beijing has reacted angrily to previous visits by high-level U.S. officials to Taiwan, and this time is no different.
However, some analysts believe that China is overreacting to Pelosi's visit and that it actually highlights Beijing's own insecurity about its position in the region.
'The Chinese government is clearly worried about the signal that Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan sends,' said Bonnie Glaser, director of the China Power Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
'It's a sign that the United States continues to support Taiwan and stands by our commitment to provide for its defense,' she added.
Pelosi's visit also comes at a time when the Trump administration is seeking to reset relations with China. President Donald Trump has imposed tariffs on Chinese goods and is engaged in a trade war with Beijing, but he has also expressed a desire to work with China on issues like North Korea and trade.
Some experts believe that Pelosi's visit could actually help the Trump administration in its efforts to engage with Beijing.
'I think the Trump administration will see this as a positive development,' said Michael Swaine, a China expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
'They will view it as Nancy Pelosi going to Taiwan and standing up for American values and interests in the face of Chinese pressure,' he added.
Others, however, are not so sure.
'I'm not sure that the Trump administration is going to see this as a positive development,' said Paul Haenle, director of the Carnegie-Tsinghua Center for Global Policy in Beijing.
'I think they may see it as another example of Nancy Pelosi trying to score political points at a time when the administration is trying to engage China in a constructive way,' he added.
In any case, it is clear that Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan has once again brought the issue of Taiwan to the forefront of U.S.-China relations. And it remains to be seen how Beijing will respond to this latest development.
