Outgoing Donald Trump administration invites Taiwan team to Washington
- Keith Krach, an undersecretary of state who was sent to Taiwan in September, will lead economic talks with Taipei team
- The talks are expected to focus on technology
A senior US State Department official will lead economic talks with Taiwan later this month, the State Department announced, in another move that is likely to trigger anger from Beijing.
Keith Krach, the undersecretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment, “will lead our economic prosperity partnership dialogue with Taiwan, under the auspices of the American Institute of Taiwan and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office here in the United States”, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters in Washington.
“The dialogue signifies that our economic relationship with Taiwan, a vibrant democracy and a reliable partner, is strong and growing,” he said.
Taiwan’s representative office in Washington said deputy minister of economic affairs Chen Chern-chyi would lead Taiwan’s delegation to Washington for the talks, which would be held both in-person and virtually.
Krach visited Taiwan in September to attend the funeral of former Taiwanese president Lee Teng-hui, who was known as the island’s “father of democracy”.
In August, US Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar travelled to the island, where he became the highest-level US cabinet member to meet Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen as well as the highest-ranking American official to visit the island since 1979.