China warns US that trip by Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen could lead to ‘serious confrontation’

First visit by island’s leader since 2019 leads Beijing to tell Washington it ‘should not use past mistakes as excuses for repeating them today’

Tsai’s arrival in New York, with expected stopover in California to meet US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, poised to heighten tensions

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Taiwanese leader Tsai Ing-wen leaves her hotel in New York on Wednesday. She is scheduled to stop by California after a 10-day trip to Central America. Photo: Reuters

Published: 6:12am, 30 Mar 2023Updated: 11:27pm, 30 Mar 2023

Past transits by Taiwanese leader Tsai Ing-wen through the US were “mistakes” and the precedent will not restrain Beijing’s response to her current visit, China’s senior envoy to Washington warned as Tsai arrived in New York on Wednesday.

Xu Xueyuan, chargé d’affaires at Beijing’s embassy in the US, also sounded an alarm about another “serious confrontation” in the rival powers’ relations if a planned meeting between Tsai and US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy were to take place.

Xu conveyed those messages at a press conference on Wednesday a few minutes after Tsai landed in New York as a stopover en route for her 10-day trip to Central America. Tsai is expected to visit Los Angeles during her return trip next week where she is expected to meet McCarthy, a California Republican.

Beijing has long stressed that the Taiwan question was “the most sensitive issue” in its relations with Washington and opposes other nations’ contacts with Taiwanese government officials.

Protesters look on as Tsai, not pictured, arrives at her hotel in New York City. China has warned the US against the Taiwanese leader meeting with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Photo: AFP

But that has not deterred the Biden administration from repeating recently that transits through the US by a Taiwanese president were “nothing new” and urged Beijing to refrain from reacting aggressively.

Xu rejected that position, saying in her briefing that the US “should not use past mistakes as excuses for repeating them today”.

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China warns US that trip by Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen could lead to ‘serious confrontation’

First visit by island’s leader since 2019 leads Beijing to tell Washington it ‘should not use past mistakes as excuses for repeating them today’ Tsai’s arrival in New York, with expected stopover in California to meet US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, poised to heighten tensions

First visit by island’s leader since 2019 leads Beijing to tell Washington it ‘should not use past mistakes as excuses for repeating them today’

Tsai’s arrival in New York, with expected stopover in California to meet US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, poised to heighten tensions