Chinese embassy in U.S. urges Washington to cancel Nancy Pelosi's trip to Taiwan
April 8, 2022, 3:44 pm

Chinese embassy in U.S. urges Washington to cancel Nancy Pelosi's trip to Taiwan

US Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California, speaks during her weekly press briefing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on February 11, 2021. (AFP)

The Xinhua reported, the Chinese embassy in the United States on Thursday (Apr 7) reiterated China's strong opposition to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's planned visit to Taiwan, urging Washington to cancel it.

A spokesperson of the embassy said, according to remarks posted on the embassy's website: "In the past few days, Chinese Ambassador Qin Gang and the Chinese Embassy in the U.S. have lodged stern representations with the U.S. Congress and government on U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's reported visit to Taiwan, and stated China's solemn position, urging the U.S. side to abide by the one-China principle and the stipulations in the three Sino-U.S. Joint Communiques, and to cancel Speaker Pelosi's plan to visit Taiwan."

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The Xinhua noted that the spokesperson's remarks were in response to a question from the media seeking comment on the postponement of Pelosi's upcoming trip to Asia - during which she reportedly will visit Taiwan on Sunday - as a result of the 82-year-old's positive COVID-19 test earlier on Thursday.

Source: xinhua

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Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.