Speaker McCarthy’s office confirms meeting with Taiwan’s president, which has drawn criticism from China

The office of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has officially confirmed Monday that the California Republican will meet this week with Taiwan’s president in his home state. 

The bipartisan meeting between McCarthy and Tsai Ing-wen, which also will include members of Congress, will take place Wednesday at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, his office told Fox News Digital in a statement. 

China previously threatened “resolute countermeasures” if McCarthy and Tsai meet. 

“There is but one China in the world and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters Monday when asked about the meeting. “As the Chinese side has repeatedly stressed, we strongly oppose any form of official interaction and contact between the U.S. side and Taiwan authorities.” 

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She did not elaborate when asked what retaliatory measures China is considering taking as a result of the meeting between McCarthy and Tsai. 

Mao also said McCarthy needs to “abide by the one-China principle… refrain from sending wrong signals to ‘Taiwan independence’ forces and avoid undermining the China-U.S. relations and peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.” 

McCarthy’s office, when asked to respond to criticisms from China about the meeting, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

Tsai is currently on a 10-day tour of the Americas. 

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Earlier in March, a report emerged that Tsai will meet with McCarthy on U.S. soil, instead of overseas, in order to avoid provoking China. 

McCarthy previously said he wanted to visit Taiwan if elected speaker, according to the Financial Times, and Fox News Digital reported in January that the Pentagon was preparing for the California Republican to visit Taipei later this year.  

But now with relations between the U.S. and China increasingly strained, Tsai and McCarthy have agreed to meet in California. 

“We shared some intelligence about what the Chinese Communist Party is recently up to and the kinds of threats they pose,” a senior Taiwanese official told the Financial Times in regard to what has been communicated to McCarthy’s team, adding that China is “not in a good situation right now.”  

 

In August last year, Nancy Pelosi became the first House speaker to visit Taiwan in 25 years, which set off a series of threats from China, including live-fire military drills in proximity to the island and accusations that the U.S. was using “dirty tricks” with the visit. 

Fox News’ Lawrence Richard and Brandon Gillespie contributed to this report.