U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi plans to make a landmark visit to Taiwan next month, according to a media report, despite Chinese warnings that the trip could escalate tensions between Washington and Beijing.
Pelosi will lead a delegation to Taipei in August, the Financial Times said Tuesday, citing six people familiar with the matter, in what would be the first such trip to the democratically governed island in 25 years. She had canceled a previously planned trip in April after contracting COVID-19.
The report comes amid a series of talks by top aides to U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in preparation for a possible conversation between the two leaders. China regularly protests foreign officials’ visits to Taipei as a violation of diplomatic agreements to avoid formal recognition of Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own territory.