Bipartisan lawmakers visit Taiwan as Biden seeks to stabilize China relationship

WASHINGTON — A bipartisan legislature delegation led by House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers landed successful Taiwan connected Tuesday for a 3 time visit, according to the American Institute successful Taiwan.

The Alabama Republican was joined connected the travel by respective members of the committee, including its ranking member, Adam Smith, D-Wash., arsenic good arsenic respective committee members and different lawmakers.

The delegation volition conscionable with President Tsai Ing-wen on Wednesday, according to the Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The sojourn comes astatine a sensitive time for America's narration with China, its largest trading spouse and strategical rival successful political, economical and information arenas.

Taiwan is astatine the center of a broader effort by Washington to incorporate China's subject and diplomatic enlargement passim the Indo-Pacific. Taiwan is simply a self-ruling democracy, but China views Taiwan arsenic a state of the Chinese mainland. Beijing considers immoderate effort by Taiwan's leaders to enactment independently of Beijing arsenic a menace to Chinese sovereignty.

Who's successful the legislature delegation to Taiwan

Rogers' travel to Taiwan marks astatine slightest the 3rd clip this twelvemonth that members of Congress person made nationalist trips to the island, but the archetypal clip Rogers has done so.

The information that Rogers chairs the committee charged with backing and oversight of the U.S. subject apt won't beryllium mislaid connected Beijing oregon Taipei.

CNBC reached retired to the House Armed Services Committee for much astir the trip, but the committee spokeswoman's car reply said she was "traveling extracurricular of the country."

Congressional visits to geopolitically delicate areas similar Taiwan are typically kept nether wraps until the delegation arrives, and immoderate nationalist comments astir the travel are usually reserved until aft it is over.

Rogers' sojourn to Taipei comes arsenic the Biden medication is taking respective steps aimed astatine stabilizing the bilateral narration with China, which reached a debased constituent successful February, aft the United States changeable down a Chinese surveillance balloon.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Beijing successful June, a travel that was primitively scheduled for February, but postponed successful effect to the spy balloon dustup.

At that point, "the narration was astatine a constituent of instability, and some sides recognized the request to enactment to stabilize it," Blinken said astatine a quality league astatine the extremity of his June visit.

"My anticipation and anticipation is: we volition person amended communications, amended engagement going forward," helium added.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen reportedly plans to sojourn China successful July, Bloomberg News reported this week. The Treasury Department declined to remark connected her question plans.

But portion visits by elder Biden medication officials to China whitethorn assistance normalize the U.S.-China relationship, visits similar Rogers' delegation to Taiwan thin to person the other effect.

Anti-China sentiment is acold much disposable connected Capitol Hill, wherever it is 1 of the fewer issues connected which some parties agree, than it is successful the White House, wherever U.S. commercialized interests and the request to avoid subject conflict are higher priorities.

Beijing has not yet commented connected the trip. A spokeswoman for the National Security Council did not instantly respond to a petition for remark connected the legislature visit.