Indiana governor in Taiwan after high-profile visits to US | Business news

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Indiana’s Republican governor began a visit to Taiwan Monday after two recent high-level visits by U.S. politicians that drew China’s ire and Chinese military exercises that included firing missiles at the island.

Gov. Eric Holcomb arrived Sunday night in Taiwan for a four-day visit that will focus on economic exchanges, particularly semiconductors, his office said in a statement.

His visit comes at a particularly tense moment for Taiwan, China and the United States House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan earlier this month. China considers self-ruled Taiwan to be its territory and views exchanges with foreign governments as a violation of its claims.

In response to Pelosi’s visit, Chinese military held several days of exercises that included warplanes flying to the island and warships sailing through the median of the Taiwan Strait, the unofficial buffer between the island and the mainland.

China has also imposed visa bans and other sanctions on several Taiwanese political figures, although it is not yet clear what effect those sanctions will have.

Holcomb will meet with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen as well as representatives of the semiconductor industry and is expected to promote academic and technical cooperation between Taiwan and Indiana State.

He is traveling with officials from the state’s economic development board, as well as the dean of Purdue University’s engineering department. Next, he will visit South Korea.

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