Washington — A bipartisan group of four senators is planning the visit TaiwanJapan and South Korea in the coming days on a trip aimed at strengthening American alliances that are considered important to confront China’s dominance in Asia.
Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, announced the trip on Saturday. She will be joined by Senators John Curtis, Republican of Utah, Thom Tillis, Republican of North Carolina, and Jacky Rosen, Democrat of Nevada. Their visits to Taipei, Tokyo and Seoul come ahead of President Donald Trump’s trip to Beijing in May for a scheduled summit with the Chinese president. Xi Jinping.
The pause by lawmakers in Taiwan may draw scrutiny from China, which opposes such relations and sees them as a challenge to its claim to sovereignty over the self-governing island. Taiwan depends on US support for its democracy, but recent moves by Trump, such as discussing the matter Potential arms sales to Taiwan These events, along with Xi, have raised questions about the future direction of US policy.
Analysts in both China and the United States believe that Xi, through the leaders-level summit, will try to influence Trump to soften the US position on Taiwan.
“This bipartisan delegation demonstrates that Congress’ commitment to these alliances and partnerships is unwavering and will continue beyond any single administration,” Shaheen said in a statement.
In a show of reassurance to Asian allies, the lawmakers plan to meet with political leaders and defense officials during their trip.
“Our alliance with Taiwan is one of the most important partnerships America has strategically and morally in the Indo-Pacific region,” Curtis said.
It remains to be seen how Trump’s intervention in Venezuela, Iran and elsewhere will affect other powers such as China and Russia. But there is some concern among lawmakers that the Republican president’s actions could be seen as giving those countries an opening for their foreign moves.
The economic relationship with Taiwan has also come under scrutiny by the Trump administration. The United States depends on Taiwan for this Produced from computer chipsWhich contributed to creating an imbalance in the trade balance of about $127 billion during the first eleven months of 2025.
The Trump administration reached an agreement with Taiwan in February to remove 99% of its trade barriers.
during Another visit By a bipartisan group of US lawmakers last year, they emphasized that the United States would continue its close partnership with Taiwan.
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Associated Press writer Dede Tang contributed to this report.