NBC News:

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy met with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in Southern California on Wednesday, promising unwavering support for Taiwan and drawing threats of retaliation from China.

Though the United States does not have official ties with Taiwan, a self-ruling democracy that Beijing claims as its territory, it is the island’s most important international backer and has been strengthening its support as Taiwan comes under growing pressure from China. McCarthy was the most senior U.S. official to meet a Taiwanese leader on U.S. soil in decades.

“I believe our bond is stronger now than at any time or point in my lifetime and of course, President Tsai is a great champion of that bond,” McCarthy, R-Calif., told reporters after the meeting at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif.

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