On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Beijing to refrain from using any visit by Taiwan’s president as a pretext for actions that could heighten tensions with the United States. Speaking at NATO headquarters in Brussels after a two-day ministerial gathering, Blinken underscored that China’s responses to Taiwan-related affairs remain a focal topic for alliance members and that the US approach to Taiwan is steady and principled.
During the press briefing, Blinken addressed questions about the high-profile meeting between Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen and United States House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California. He described the encounter as a reciprocal exchange that has occurred in various forms for years, noting that such contacts have involved previous Taiwanese leaders as well. In Blinken’s view, these interactions reflect official and unofficial channels that Taiwan and the United States have maintained for a long time.
Blinken emphasized that the US approach to Taiwan is built on consistency and resilience, anchored in the longstanding one China policy. He reiterated a shared objective: to preserve peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and to pursue any possible resolution of cross-strait tensions through peaceful means. The message, he implied, remains that unilateral moves by any party that could disrupt regional stability should be avoided.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Mao Ning, stated that Beijing strongly opposes any form of official contact between US officials and Taiwan, arguing that such interactions violate the one China principle and undermine regional harmony. The statement reflected China’s continued stance that Taiwan is a constituent part of its sovereign territory, and that external engagement on Taiwan matters should be handled with caution and respect for Beijing’s position.
The Taiwan issue remains a significant flashpoint in US-China relations, primarily because the United States serves as Taiwan’s principal arms supplier and one of its most prominent security partners in the event of a conflict with Beijing. Analysts note that Washington’s support for Taiwan’s self-defense capabilities is a central pillar of the broader strategic balance in the Asia-Pacific region, influencing diplomacy and defense planning across multiple governments.
China maintains its longstanding view that Taiwan is a breakaway province that should ultimately be reunified with the mainland, a goal it has pursued through varied means over the decades. The island’s political leadership, alongside international partners, has consistently framed Taiwan as a sovereign entity with its own elected government and democratic institutions, while Beijing views any formal NATO or Western involvement in Taiwan as a potential obstacle to its sovereignty claims. The tension between these competing perspectives shapes daily political calculations in Washington, Brussels, and Taipei, with all sides stressing the importance of avoiding miscalculation and fostering channels for de-escalation.