China has blocked the importation of dozens of Taiwanese foods and begun live-fire exercises off its north-eastern coast as US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi prepares to land in Taiwan | ErykBagshaw
Pelosi will be the highest-ranking serving US official to visit Taipei and meet with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in decades. Republican Newt Gingrich was the last US House Speaker to visit in 1997, but he was not a member of the governing Democratic Party. Pelosi and Tsai are expected to meet on Wednesday morning.
She has not commented publicly on the trip, but plans were leaked to US and Taiwanese media and the reports have provoked an increasingly heavy rhetorical response from Beijing.China’s customs authority announced overnight that it would suspend the importation of 180 products including cakes, biscuits and pineapple juices. Sina Weibo Taiwan, a Chinese microblogging service similar to Twitter, went down on Tuesday, but it was not clear if it was related to Pelosi’s visit.
Workers sort harvested pineapples at a distribution centre in Nantou County, Taiwan. China surprised Taiwan in May with a move to block pineapple imports.But analysts are concerned that Pelosi’s visit could escalate the dispute beyond trade sanctions.
“If Pelosi’s trip happens, the Chinese response will likely involve additional large-scale military activities in the Taiwan Strait. All these manoeuvres in close quarters could lead to dangerous encounters or, worse, an accidental collision, which could in turn spark further brinksmanship and escalation,” said International Crisis Group senior analyst Amanda Hsiao.
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