“House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul is leading a bipartisan delegation to Taiwan that has just landed in Taipei,” the committee said in a statement on Wednesday.
The delegation also includes Rep. Young Kim, Rep. Ami Bera, Rep. French Hill, Rep. Madeleine Dean, Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, Rep. Michael Lawler, and Rep. Nathaniel Moran.
“While there, the delegation will meet with Taiwanese business leaders, as well as senior Taiwanese officials from the executive and legislative branches to discuss ways the U.S. can strengthen our economic and defense relationship with Taiwan in the face of growing threats in the region,” the statement said.
On Wednesday, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen met with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and other lawmakers in Los Angeles, California, during her transit trip to the country.
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Thursday that Beijing firmly opposes and strongly condemns official contacts between the United States and Taiwan and calls on Washington to stop upgrading relations with Taiwan while reiterating China's readiness to take "strong and resolute measures" to defend the country's sovereignty.
Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Thursday that Beijing will not make any concessions on the Taiwan issue.