China warns against Taiwan's leader visiting the US

Taiwan president Tsai Ing-wen is set to travel to the United States this week, with planned stops in New York and California, where she is expected to meet US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Beijing has vowed to take countermeasures should Tsai meet with the US House speaker, despite strong warnings from China. Taiwanese officials previously told the Financial Times that she would indeed sit down with the Republican lawmaker during her visit to California. On Wednesday, a spokesperson for China's Taiwan Affairs Office, Zhu Fenglian, slammed the upcoming visit, saying that Tsai would not merely be staying in a hotel, but meeting with American officials. The spokesperson did not specify what kind of countermeasures would be taken, but a trip by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi last year triggered a harsh reaction from Beijing.