WEDNESDAY – President Biden announced that U.S. military officials feel that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s scheduled visit to Taiwan is “not a good idea”.
Pelosi, who postponed her originally planned April trip to Taiwan after testing positive for Covid-19, would be the first House Speaker to visit Taiwan since Republican Newt Gingrich 25 years earlier.
The sentiment of the military reflects comments from China’s Foreign Ministry the day prior, that it would take “resolute and strong measures” in response to Pelosi’s trip.
Biden: Military thinks potential Pelosi trip to Taiwan is "not a good idea" https://t.co/hjIQbuh6GE pic.twitter.com/qfGMCnfBFI
— The Hill (@thehill) July 21, 2022
Biden said, “Well, I think that the military thinks it’s not a good idea right now, But I don’t know what the status of it is.” He also said that he intends to speak with Xi Jinping, the President of China, within ten days.
Biden and Xi are in staunch disagreement over Putin’s war in Ukraine. Biden has urged the Chinese president against providing support or assistance to the Russian military for the past five months.
Zhao Lijiang, spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that her visit would “severely undermine China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, gravely impact the foundation of China-U.S. relations and send a seriously wrong signal to Taiwan independence forces.”
Tensions between the US and China have been higher that than usual since former President Trump imposed tariffs on the Communist state that created a 25% tax on billions of dollars of Chinese cargo, intended to coerce China into agreeing to what Trump felt were more fair practices.
Janet Yellen, US Treasury Secretary suggested calling off some existing tariffs to ease inflation in the US. Katherine Tai, U.S. Trade Representative worries that eliminating tariffs when China fails to adhere to their end of agreements regarding buying US products is a bad idea.
When asked by a reporter what he might intend to say to the Chinese president regarding tariffs, Biden said, “I’d tell him to have a good day.”
