From frothy rhetoric to fighter jet incursions, China rarely leaves even a low-level exchange between the U.S. and Taiwan unanswered. The question now is how far Beijing will go to signal its displeasure with any Taipei visit by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Not only would the reported trip next month be the first by someone in her post in a quarter century, it comes at a sensitive time for Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Xi is expected to spend the first half of August huddled with Communist Party elders ahead of a reshuffle, in which he’s seeking support to rule for at least another five years. He can’t afford to look weak in response to what Beijing views as a foreign effort to break off a piece of the country’s territory.