US Believes China 'Overreacted' to Pelosi's Taiwan Visit, Official Says
00:04 GMT 13.08.2022 (Updated: 12:45 GMT 19.06.2023)
© AP Photo / Kin CheungPro-China supporters step on a picture of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during a protest outside the Consulate General of the United States in Hong Kong, Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022. U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived in Taiwan late Tuesday, becoming the highest-ranking American official in 25 years to visit the self-ruled island claimed by China, which quickly announced that it would conduct military maneuvers in retaliation for her presence. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
© AP Photo / Kin Cheung
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WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The United States believes that China "overreacted" to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan and sees its actions as provocative, Kurt Campbell, coordinator for Indo-Pacific affairs in the National Security Council, said on Friday.
"Last week the PRC used the visit of the US Speaker of the House, a visit that is consistent with our One China policy. And it's not unprecedented as a pretext to launch an intensified pressure campaign against Taiwan and to try to change the status quo, jeopardizing peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and in the broader region. China has overreacted and its actions continue to be provocative, destabilizing and unprecedented," Campbell told a briefing.
Campbell went on to say that Washington has called on China to reopen closed communication channels amid tensions over Taiwan.
"We have and will continue to keep lines of communication open with Beijing and we call on Beijing to reopen those channels it has closed, not for our sake but because this is what the world demands of responsible powers," he said.
Meanwhile, the official indicated that the US is developing an "ambitious roadmap" for trade negotiations with Taiwan that will be announced in the coming days.
"We will continue to fulfill our commitments under the Taiwan Relations Act. That includes supporting Taiwan's self-defense and maintaining our own capacity to resist any resort to force or other forms of current coercion that would jeopardize Taiwan's security, the economy or society," Campbell said.
Campbell also said the United States will continue to deepen its ties with Taiwan, consistent with the one-China policy, including continuing to advance economic and trade relations.
"For example, we're developing an ambitious roadmap for trade negotiations, which we intend to announce in the coming days," he said.
He also emphasized that more US navy ships will transit through the Taiwan Strait in the upcoming weeks.
"We will continue to take calm and resolute steps to uphold peace and stability in the face of Beijing's ongoing efforts to undermine it and to support Taiwan in line with our long-standing policy," the official added. "These steps across a range of areas will unfold over the coming weeks and months because the challenge is long-term."
Campbell added that the United States will continue to fly, sail and operate where international law allows it, consistent with its long-standing commitment to freedom of navigation.
"That includes conducting standard air and maritime transits through the Taiwan Strait in the next few weeks," he asserted.
Apart from that, Campbell confirmed that President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping recently spoke on the phone about the possibility of meeting in November in Southeast Asia.
"I can confirm that the two leaders when they spoke last discussed a possible face-to-face meeting during their recent call and agreed to have their teams follow up to sort out the specifics," Campbell said. "We don't have anything further in terms of details on time or location."
On Thursday, China maintained its threat to use force, according to Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, despite the fact that Beijing's largest-ever military exercises around the island in response to Pelosi's visit last week appeared to be winding down.