US envoy arrives to brief Taiwan on Hu Jintao's US trip

Jan 23, 2011, 16:31 GMT

Taipei - A US envoy arrived in Taiwan Sunday to brief Taiwan leaders on Chinese President Hu Jintao's recent visit to the United States.

Raymond F. Burghardt, chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) - which handles the unofficial Washington-Taipei ties - arrived in Taipei late Sunday.

He is scheduled to meet with President Ma Ying-jeou and other Taiwan officials and brief them on Hu's US trip and exchange ideas on Taiwan-US ties.

When the US switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979, it signed the Taiwan Relations Act, pledging to maintain trade ties with Taipei and to continue to sell Taiwan defensive arms.

Taiwan has repeatedly urged the US not to sacrifice Taipei's interests when it seeks to improve ties with Beijing.

During Hu's US trip last week, President Barack Obama welcomed the ease of Taipei-Beijing tension, and reaffirmed Washington's commitments to a 'One-China' policy based on the three US-China communiques and the Taiwan Relations Act.

Read more about China

Read more about Taiwan Diplomacy

Read more about US