Pelosi’s Taiwan ambiguity has China fuming ahead of Biden call

Bloomberg

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s staff and security officials aren’t ruling out plans for her to visit Taiwan in early August on a trip that has already stoked more US-China tensions.
No final decision has been made about stopping in Taiwan during a trip to Asia next month, according to a person familiar with the details, but if it happens it would come within days of an expected call between President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Beijing has been warning Pelosi not to be the first sitting speaker since Newt Gingrich to visit the self-governing island, which it considers part of its territory.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said China is getting “seriously prepared” to respond to a visit, and referred to earlier pledges to “take firm and strong measures to safeguard our sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
Taiwan has emerged as one of the top issues aggravating US-China relations along with trade, accusations of forced labor and “genocide” over Beijing’s treatment of Uyghur Muslims in the Xinjiang region and the country’s reluctance to pressure Russia over the war in Ukraine.
Adding to tensions was Biden’s decision to say the US would act “militarily” to defend the island if attacked, upending a historic policy of “strategic ambiguity” regarding Taiwan. The president’s aides later said US policy remained unchanged.
In addition, a range of US officials have visited Taiwan in recent years, including members of Congress and at least two former Trump administration cabinet secretaries: ex-Defense Secretary Mark Esper and ex-Secretary of State Michael Pompeo. But as the third highest-ranking US official, behind Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, a visit by Pelosi would generate more furor in Beijing.
At the same time, China has ramped up military flights into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone and warned against outside meddling in what it considers internal affairs.
Hu Xijin, a hawkish commentator and former editor-in-chief of the Communist Party’s Global Times newspaper, said in a tweet last week that Pelosi will “bear historical responsibility for possibly triggering a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait.”
And while China’s threats are unlikely to dissuade US officials, including Pelosi, from visiting Taipei, the timing of the visit has generated conflicting messages from the Biden administration. Biden last week suggested the visit is “not a good idea right now,” without giving details. The White House later said it would defer to Pelosi’s office on travel questions.
The debate comes after Pelosi — whose office won’t confirm or deny international travel due to security issues —had to scrap a reported trip to Taiwan in the spring when she contracted Covid-19. The decision whether to make the visit has become a political flashpoint, with Republicans arguing that backing down now would be a sign of weakness.
Even if Pelosi does irritate US-China ties, it’s not clear how much Biden and Xi could achieve from a call at what is a delicate time politically for each of the leaders.
Xi is just months away from a high-level Communist Party congress where he is expected to secure a third term, and is facing economic challenges.