Despite China's threats. Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Meets President of Taiwan

Republican U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Wednesday welcomed Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen at the start of a meeting that even before it angered Beijing, as China began a special inspection of its troops in the Taiwan Strait.

The meeting between McCarthy and Tsay took place at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley in the southernmost state of California.

Pro-China and pro-Taiwan demonstrators gathered outside the library in opposite rallies.

Officially, Taiwan's president is not on a visit to the United States, but only a transit stop on her way back to Taiwan from a Latin American tour.

President Joe Biden's administration has sought to downplay the importance of the meeting between the speaker of the House of Representatives and the president of Taiwan, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken repeating Wednesday that the president of Taiwan is not making an official visit to the United States, but that her presence in that country is just a transit visit.

Chinese Warnings

On Monday, China's consulate in Los Angeles said McCarthy was "insisting on playing the Taiwan card" to contain Beijing, adding: "He will undoubtedly make the same mistake again, which will further damage the Sino-American relationship."

Chinese authorities have vowed to respond to the meeting between McCarthy and Tsai, and Beijing has in recent weeks stepped up angry remarks about the meeting.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said his country "firmly opposes the meeting between the third figure in the American state and the president of Taiwan, which belongs to a party that supports Taiwan's secession from China."

China considers the island of Taiwan an integral part of its territory and does not rule out its recapture by force if necessary.

Pelosi Tourism

McCarthy and Tsai's meeting echoes former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's unprecedented visit to Taiwan in August 2022, angering China, which responded with large-scale military exercises around the island of Taiwan.

Taiwan's military said it was closely monitoring China's drills in the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday morning.

Beijing announced the participation of the first major Chinese ship in the recent exercises in the Taiwan Strait, describing the drills as a special joint operation for cruises and patrol in the strait. Fourteen Chinese military aircraft and 14 warships have been spotted in areas around Taiwan.