President Tsai Ing-wen’s passage through the United States en route to Central America will allow officials from Taiwan and the U.S. to consult on key topics. That’s the word from Raymond Burghardt, chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan.
The AIT is the de facto US embassy in Taiwan in the absence of official ties.
Burghardt was speaking Wednesday in an interview with Voice of America (VOA). He said that President Tsai’s stop in the US is to facilitate her trip to Panama and Paraguay. He said her brief stay, though not an official visit, will allow US officials to speak to her and cover important topics.
Burghardt said discussions are unlikely to have much to do with China. He said Taiwan and the United States are close trade partners and face many common concerns, including global public health and the Middle East refugee crisis. These may be focus of conversation, he said.