Taiwan president cancels overseas trip, speculation Trump govt opposed stopover amid China trade talks

Taiwan president William Lai called off his trip to Latin America amid speculation that the Trump administration opposed a proposed stopover by Lai in New York, U.S.

The cancellation comes as the U.S. concluded high-level negotiations with China over a possible trade deal, without a final result.

Bloomberg reported that Lai was supposed to stop over in New York on Aug. 4, before travelling to Dallas 10 days later as part of a trip to Taiwan's diplomatic allies Paraguay, Guatemala and Belize.

Conflicting accounts of the reason for calling off the trip

A person with knowledge of the discussions claimed to the Associated Press (AP News) that the U.S. "had asked Taipei to rearrange the transit — not go through New York".

Another person who is familiar with the discussions said that Beijing had allegedly sensed that it could ask U.S. president Donald Trump to prevent Lai from making a stopover due to the perceived "desperation" by Trump to meet with Chinese president Xi Jinping.

The Financial Times, as reported by Bloomberg, stated that Trump officials did not greenlight Lai's stopover in the U.S. after China raised objections about the visit, citing people familiar with the decision.

People with knowledge on the matter also alleged that the U.S. was deeply concerned about Lai's visit, afraid that it could disrupt trade talks with China and a potential summit with Xi.

Nothing to do with US, Lai had to deal with typhoon recovery: Taiwan

According to Taiwan's Foreign Ministry, there was no postponement, cancellation nor any denial of permission for the stopover by the U.S.

When asked about the trip, Lai's office issued a statement stating that he had no overseas travel plans due to domestic issues, including typhoon recovery work in Southern Taiwan and tariff negotiations with the U.S, AP News reported.

Concerns about Trump "conceding too much" to China

Bloomberg reported that officials in U.S. and Taipei are worried that Trump may concede too much to China as he is hoping to meet with Xi, citing people familiar with the matter.

According to one of the people aware of the discussions, as reported in AP News, the Trump administration was allegedly discussing Lai's possible stopover a week earlier.

However, it was unclear whether or not the administration had taken steps to block the transit, or whether it considered allowing Lai to make a stopover in another U.S. city.

According to AP News, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and former legislator in Taiwan Jason Hsu stated that it was "abnormal" for the U.S. to not approve of the transit when such stopovers are allowed under the Taiwan Relations Act.

He added that by doing so, the Trump administration appears to be "accommodating China's red lines".

Tammy Bruce, the spokesperson for the State Department, said that transits by high-level Taiwanese officials, including presidents, "are fully consistent with [their] longstanding policy and practice".

Former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also commented on the issue, stating that "Trump's decision to deny permission for president Lai to visit New York sends a dangerous signal: that the U.S. can be bullied by Beijing into silence on Taiwan", Bloomberg reported.

Trump denies "seeking" a meeting with Xi

In a post on Truth Social, Trump stated that reports that he was "seeking" a summit with Xi were "fake news".

"I may go to China, but it would only be at the invitation of President Xi, which has been extended. Otherwise, no interest!"

Top photo via 賴清德/Facebook