Chart: China’s Protests at Taiwan Leaders’ U.S. Stopovers

China has called on the United States to abide by the ‘One China’ policy by blocking Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen from making stopovers in the U.S. during her upcoming trip to Paraguay and Belize.

“The Chinese side has made clear its position many times and lodged stern representations with the U.S. side over such stopovers made by the Taiwan leader in the United States,” Geng Shuang, a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told reporters in Beijing on Tuesday.

The U.S. should refrain from sending the wrong signal to Taiwan independence forces, he said.

Tsai is set to stop over in Los Angeles and Houston during her visit of the Latin American countries on Aug. 12-20, Tsai’s fifth overseas trip since she became Taiwan’s leader in May 2016.

Taiwan leaders have sought to arrange transit in key U.S. cities as much as possible in their trips abroad to raise the island’s international profile through so-called stopover diplomacy as Taiwan has been increasingly shut out of international affairs amid China’s rapid rise in recent decades.

Only 18 countries, mostly in Latin America, Oceania and Africa, maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan.

Below is a closer look at the trips made by the three most recent Taiwan leaders — Chen Shui-bian, Ma Ying-jeou and Tsai — since 2000.

Contact reporter Li Rongde (rongdeli@caixin.com)