China calls on US to block Taiwan president’s stop in Hawaii

The Chinese government is calling on the United States to bar Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen from stopping in Hawaii next week as part of her tour of the Pacific, according to Reuters. 

“We have consistently and resolutely opposed the United States or other countries which have diplomatic relations with China arranging this kind of transit,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters in Beijing, the news service reported.

Tsai is reportedly scheduled to stop in Hawaii on her way back to Taiwan after an eight-day visit to Nauru, the Marshall Islands and Palau.

{mosads}China considers Taiwan a province and regularly objects to stops in the U.S. by Taiwanese leaders. China’s Foreign Ministry said Thursday that the nation has lodged “stern representations” with the U.S. over the scheduled visit, according to another Reuters report.   

The warning is the latest in a series of recent diplomatic flare-ups between China and the U.S. over Taiwan.  

In September, China warned of consequences for Washington-Beijing relations due to a State Department-approved sale of spare F-16 fighter jet parts to Taiwan worth $330 million.

Shortly after the 2016 presidential election, then-President-elect Trump spoke on the phone with Tsai, the first phone conversation between a U.S. president or president-elect since the two nations cut diplomatic relations in 1979. 

Following that call, the White House affirmed the “One China” policy remained in place.

“There is no change to our longstanding policy on cross-Strait issues,” said Ned Price, a spokesman for the National Security Council. “Our fundamental interest is in peaceful and stable cross-Strait relations.”

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also vowed earlier this month that the U.S. would ensure that the South China Sea remains open for trade despite increased activity in the area from Chinese naval and military forces, which has strained relations between Washington and Beijing.