No US stopover for Taiwanese leader could ease path to Xi-Trump meeting this year
William Lai Ching-te has no immediate plans for overseas travel, his office said on Monday, following reports that his proposed stopover in the United States was declined by the
Donald Trump administration.
Citing people familiar with the decision, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday that Washington told Lai he could not stop in New York on the way to South America, where he was earlier reported to be planning to visit Paraguay, Guatemala and Belize.
The decision is expected to remove significant obstacles to a
potential leaders' meeting between Beijing and Washington.
Taiwanese Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo attributed the decision not to travel to the ongoing rehabilitation efforts in southern Taiwan following a recent typhoon, regional developments, and the United States' tariffs.
The South China Morning Post reported earlier this month that Lai was planning a US 'stopover' in August that could take him to New York and Texas en route to South America, a move that was bound to anger Beijing.
The reported cancellation of Lai's planned US transit represents another significant setback for his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), following its failure on the weekend to unseat 24 lawmakers from the main opposition Kuomintang in recall votes.
The Post has approached the US State Department for comment.
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