(Washington) The United States, whose relations with China remain very tense, will send “an informal delegation” to Taiwan after the presidential election scheduled for Saturday, a senior American official said on Wednesday, warning Beijing against any action “provocative” at the end of this crucial election.
She did not specify who would be part of this delegation, but indicated during an interview with the press that Washington had regularly, in recent years, sent former ministers or former senior government officials to the island, of which China claims sovereignty.
There is therefore, according to her, “nothing new”.
“It would be provocative for Beijing to respond (to the election result) with more military pressure or coercive actions,” also warned the senior official, who requested anonymity.
Senior Chinese military officials told their American counterparts that China will “never compromise” on Taiwan and urged the United States to “stop arming” the island during military talks earlier this week at the US Department of Defense in Washington.
“The United States does not take sides in the election, does not have a preferred candidate. Regardless of the outcome of the election, our policy regarding Taiwan will remain the same and our strong informal relationship will continue,” she said.
The senior official added that Washington opposed any attempt at external “interference” in the island’s electoral process, a process in which the United States has “full confidence.” »
” Escalation ”
She stressed that Beijing had not judged that previous visits by “informal delegations” – including those sent by President Joe Biden in April 2021 and then in February 2022 – constituted an “escalation”.
Of all the areas of tension between the two superpowers, the status of Taiwan is perhaps the most explosive.
Beijing considers Taiwan to be an integral part of its territory.
The United States, for its part, refuses to allow the “status quo” to be broken by force.
Washington does not recognize Taiwan as a state and considers the People’s Republic of China to be the only legitimate Chinese government, but the United States nevertheless provides significant military aid to the self-ruled island.
Taiwanese Vice-President William Lai, from the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), is favored to succeed current President Tsai Ing-wen, also from the DPP. Both are the bane of Beijing because of their pro-independence positions.
Tension between Washington and Beijing reached new heights about a year ago, when the United States destroyed a Chinese balloon that it accused of spying on its territory — something China denied.
The relationship has since experienced a certain thaw, manifested in particular during a summit meeting between Joe Biden and his counterpart Xi Jinping in November in California.
The American president says he wants to prevent the all-out rivalry between the two giants, economic, technological, military and diplomatic, from degenerating into armed conflict.
A senior White House official, Jon Finer, met with a Chinese envoy, Liu Jianchao, in Washington on Wednesday, a meeting the White House said was “an integral part of ongoing efforts to keep the lines of communication open.” »