China says top US cabinet member's visit to Taiwan 'endangering peace and stability'

Amid increasing tensions between the world's two most powerful nations, the United States and China, a new development has come up. On August 5, China said a visit by a top US cabinet member to Taiwan was endangering peace and stability in the region. A statement by United states de facto embassy in Taipei said US health secretary Alex Azar would lead a delegation to the self-ruled island of Taiwan, which Beijing claims it as part of China.

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According to media reports Wang Wenbin, a spokesman of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said China strongly opposes official exchanges between the United States of America and Taiwan. He also added we urge the USA to abide by the one-China principle and to avoid seriously endangering Sino-US relations and to keep peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

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US-Taiwan relations

The United States switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China in 1979. It remains the leading arms supplier to the island of Taiwan but historically been conscious in holding official contacts with Taiwan. Taiwan’s foreign ministry has confirmed the trip and said US health secretary Alex Azar would meet President Tsai Ing-wen. Neither side disclosed when the trip would happen in their statements, said media reports.

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Azar would be the first Health Secretary to visit Taiwan and the first Cabinet member to visit in six years, the last being then-Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy. His Cabinet ranking is higher than previous US visitors. Taiwan’s strong performance in handling its COVID-19 outbreak has also won it plaudits while highlighting its exclusion from the World Health Organization and other U.N. bodies. Despite its close proximity to China, where the global pandemic is believed to have originated, the island of 23 million has recorded just 476 cases and seven deaths from COVID-19, largely as a result of rigorous testing and case tracing.

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