Taiwan's foreign minister has arrived in the United States to tour TSMC's semiconductor plant there, days after China pressed Washington at a summit to declare its opposition to Taiwan independence.
Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung landed in Phoenix, Arizona, on the afternoon of the 3rd, Taiwan's Central News Agency reported on the 4th. During the trip, Lin will attend an unveiling ceremony for the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Phoenix and visit TSMC's chip plant in Arizona with a delegation of business executives.
The timing draws attention because the trip comes immediately after the U.S.-China summit. Lin traveled to Belize and Guatemala, two Latin American countries that maintain diplomatic ties with Taipei, following the summit on the 24th of last month, then headed to the United States after completing that itinerary.
At the TSMC plant, Lin is expected to meet Taiwanese companies investing in the United States to hear firsthand about the difficulties and needs they face in running operations there.
Washington is also lending support to closer industrial cooperation with Taiwan. Ingrid Larson, managing director of the American Institute in Taiwan, which functions as the de facto U.S. embassy in Taipei, will travel from Washington to Arizona to accompany Lin on his schedule. A source said the move "shows how much importance both sides attach to deepening exchanges at the local and industrial levels."
Lin's visit comes as China presses the United States to shift its position on Taiwan. Beijing has long demanded that Washington move beyond its existing stance of "not supporting" Taiwan independence and state clearly that it "opposes" it. Chinese President Xi Jinping is said to have raised that demand directly with U.S. President Donald Trump at the summit held on the 24th of last month.
