Taiwan officials visit US for talks with Trump team, President-elect had floated asking Taiwan to pay for protection

Officials from Taiwan are in the U.S. for talks with people connected to the transition team of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.

The two officials from Taiwan are deputy national secretaries of Taiwan's National Security Council, Lin Fei Fan and Hsu Szu Chien, Reuters reported.

According to Taiwan's presidential office, their visit is a routine part of their work, and did not elaborate further.

The visit comes amidst China's largest maritime movement around Taiwan in decades, the island's defence ministry said on Dec. 10, 2024, according to CNN.

Trump's transition team did not respond to media requests for comment.

Trump has called on Taiwan to pay more for U.S. protection, claims it also "stole" American chip business

CNN reported that Trump has also thrown ambiguity onto the island's relationship with the U.S.

While Trump increased arm sales and upgraded diplomatic visits during his initial term, he called on Taiwan to pay more for U.S. protection while he was campaigning.

In an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek, he was quoted as saying, "Taiwan should pay us for defence. You know, we’re no different than an insurance company."

Trump also claimed that Taiwan has a chokehold on the computer chip industry over the U.S. and that it therefore has the means to pay.

He said, "I mean, how stupid are we? They took all of our chip business. They’re immensely wealthy."

He has also suggested imposing tariffs on Taiwan's chip exports.

Tariffs on China will also affect Taiwan

In addition, Taiwan's Central Bank has noted that Trump's threat to impose tariffs of 60 per cent on U.S. imports from China also poses risks to Taiwan, according to Reuters.

Trump has also threatened to slap China with an additional 10 per cent tariff "above any additional tariffs" until it has cracked down on fentanyl smuggling, according to the BBC.

According to Taiwan's Central Bank, the tariffs might slow down growth in China, which is also Taiwan's largest trading partner.

"The new U.S. trade policies under Trump could impact Taiwan's financial outlook through multiple channels," the report added.

Trump has extended an invitation to China's President, Xi Jinping, to attend his inauguration however, in what is seen as an unorthodox move.

No head of state has officially visited the U.S. for a president's inauguration, AP News reported.

However, Xi is unlikely to attend, with China's ambassador to the U.S. and other officials attending the inauguration instead, according to the BBC.

China's foreign ministry has also called on the U.S. to "cautiously handle" the Taiwan issue, and not send any wrong signals to "Taiwan independence separatist forces" in relation to the visits by Taiwan's officials from the National Security Council.

Top photo via Donald Trump/Facebook