During their phone call last month, Chinese President Xi Jinping requested that US counterpart Joe Biden forbid US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi from travelling to Taiwan, which cited White House officials.
But Xi’s worries were dismissed, the report said, and he was cautioned against Beijing’s “provocative” moves if the visit were to happen.
According to the publication, the US President told his Chinese colleague that Pelosi will decide on her own visits abroad and that he “could not oblige” because the US Congress is an independent branch of the government.
Additionally, Biden advised his Chinese counterpart against using “provocative and coercive” tactics in the event that the US House speaker’s visit occurred.
“Congressmen have travelled to Taiwan for decades and will do so in the future. The visit by Speaker Pelosi is in line with our long-standing one-China policy,” according to National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson, who was quoted by the publication.
Pelosi visited Taiwan at the beginning of August. Since 1997, no US House speaker had previously visited the island.
As the highest-ranking US official to visit Taiwan in 25 years, Pelosi made history. China denounced Pelosi’s visit, which it saw as an endorsement of secession, and began extensive military drills close to the island.
Beijing opposes any official interactions between Taiwan and other nations because it sees the island as an integral component of its sovereign territory.
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