Beijing complains to US about health chief Azar’s visit to Taiwan, highest official since 1979

China has lodged stern representations with the United States over the upcoming visit of US Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar to Taiwan, the Foreign Ministry in Beijing said on Wednesday. China is firmly opposed to official interactions between the US and Taiwan, ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters.

Azar’s trip would be the highest-level visit by an American Cabinet official since the break in formal diplomatic relations between Washington and Taipei in 1979.

Azar will meet with President Tsai Ing-wen, Reuters reports, citng Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry. “Taiwan has been a model of transparency and cooperation in global health during the Covid-19 pandemic and long before it,” Azar said in a statement.

“I look forward to conveying President Trump’s support for Taiwan’s global health leadership,” the US official added.