Like the visit of McCarthy’s predecessor, Nancy Pelosi, to Taipei last August, the meeting has drawn the ire of China, which has vowed to retaliate.
DIFFERENT STANCES ON CHINA
Pelosi is typically critical of rival McCarthy, a Republican who took over the top Congressional job when his party regained control of the House of Representatives in November 2022, but praised his leadership and the bipartisan gathering he hosted for the Taiwanese leader. Support for Taiwan and a harsh stance towards China in general is one of the few areas of agreement between US Republicans and Democrats.
McCarthy had originally planned another trip to Taiwan, even promising to go as part of his re-election campaign, in order to be seen as tough on China, like his rival Pelosi.
However, the meeting was held on US soil at the request of Tsai to potentially dampen the reaction of China, which responded aggressively to Pelosi’s visit by sending war ships close to the island, breaching its air defences and conducted live fire drills.