U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) holds her weekly news conference with reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., July 14, 2022. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
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July 23 (Reuters) – China has issued strong private warnings to the Biden administration over a possible trip to Taiwan in August by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the Financial Times reported on Saturday .
The report cited six people familiar with the Chinese warnings who said they were significantly stronger than threats Beijing has made in the past when it was unhappy with U.S. actions or policy in Taiwan, which China claims .
The private rhetoric suggested a possible military response, the Financial Times said, citing several people familiar with the situation.
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The White House National Security Council and the State Department declined to comment on the report. China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on Sunday.
China has stepped up military activity around Taiwan to pressure the democratically elected government there to accept Chinese sovereignty. Taiwan’s government says only the island’s 23 million people can decide their future, and while it wants peace, it will defend itself if attacked.
The Financial Times reported Monday that Pelosi plans to visit Taiwan in August.
China’s foreign ministry said the next day that a visit to Taiwan would seriously harm China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and the United States would bear the consequences of its response.
On Wednesday, US President Joe Biden said he plans to speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping later this month. Biden appeared to question Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan.
“I think the military thinks it’s not a good idea right now, but I don’t know what the state is,” Biden told reporters. Read more
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Reporting by Rachna Dhanrajani in Bangalore; Edited by Grant McCool
Our standards: the Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.