U.S. ambassador to accompany visit to Taiwan U.S. State Department spokesman says Washington will continue to deepen U.S.-Taiwan relations

The United States will continue to deepen its relationship with Taiwan and consider opportunities for reciprocal visits by senior officials, State Department spokesman Condoleezza Price said Thursday (April 1). This week, the U.S. ambassador to Palau accompanied the Palauan president on a visit to Taiwan. There are reports that the Biden administration is preparing to issue new guidance to ease restrictions on U.S.-Taiwan diplomatic personnel interactions. Price made this statement in this context.

At the State Department’s regular press conference, a reporter asked about the U.S. ambassador to Palau’s visit to Taiwan and asked spokesman Price if this meant that the Biden administration would continue the Trump administration’s practice of lifting restrictions on visits to Taiwan by senior U.S. officials.

Price replied, “We are committed to deepening our relationship with Taiwan. Taiwan is, of course, a premier democracy. It is a key economic and security partner of the United States, so we will continue to engage with Taiwan in a manner consistent with our long-held ‘One China’ policy. We will consider – as we have already done – opportunities for senior officials to visit Washington and Taipei to advance our unofficial relationship and facilitate substantive exchanges on issues of mutual concern.”

This week, U.S. Ambassador to Palau John Hennessey-Niland, also known as Hennessey-Niland, accompanied Palau’s President Surangel Whipps, Jr. to Taiwan. Taiwan refers to Palau as Palau.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian on Monday warned Washington to “fully understand the high sensitivity of the Taiwan issue” and “not to try to break through China’s bottom line.

In January, outgoing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the lifting of self-imposed restrictions on U.S. official contacts with Taiwan. In an exclusive report Tuesday, the Financial Times quoted a source familiar with the situation as saying that the Biden administration is scheduled to issue new guidelines to ease restrictions on contacts between U.S. and Taiwanese diplomats, with the new guidelines focusing on encouraging U.S. officials to meet with their Taiwanese counterparts, rather than imposing restrictions on such contacts.