TAIPEI, Reuters – William Lai, Vice President of Taiwan was able to wrap up his trip to America and Honduras by a virtual meeting in Washington with Nancy Pelosi Speaker of the U.S House of Representatives. This is a further gesture of Washington’s support for the Chinese-claimed islands.

Lai traveled to Honduras for the inauguration ceremony of the president. He was trying to strengthen ties with Taiwan’s only remaining diplomatic allies.

Taiwan has been viewed as an independent territory by Beijing, and only 14 other countries have official relations with it. They are not entitled to state-level privileges.

Lai was on his return to Taiwan when he stopped by San Francisco, California on Friday.

“I was delighted to meet with @SpeakerPelosi. She is an advocate for human rights and a friend to Taiwan. “We are committed to working together in strengthening the U.S.–Taiwan relationship,” Lai shared a photo of the video conference, which was also attended by Hsiao B-khim, Taiwan’s de facto ambassador to Washington.

Lai briefly talked with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris in Honduras on Thursday https://www.reuters.com/world/us-taiwanese-vice-presidents-speak-rare-encounter-honduras-2022-01-28, a rare encounter that was highly symbolic and provoked anger in Beijing at a time of simmering tension with Washington.

While the United States doesn’t have any formal relationships with Taiwan, it is Taiwan’s most important international donor and arms supplier.

Zhao Lijian (China’s foreign minister) stated that China opposes any official exchange with Taiwan. On Sunday, Zhao Lijian also said that China had lodged “solemn representations” with the United States regarding Lai’s virtual meetings between U.S. legislators.

“We urge the U.S. to abide by the one-China principle and the stipulations in the three China-U.S. joint communiqués, immediately stop the erroneous acts of having official exchanges with Taiwan, avoid sending any wrong signal to the ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces, and refrain from further undermining China-U.S. relations and peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.”

Lai was transiting Los Angeles while he traveled to Honduras. He also talked virtually with more than a dozen U.S. Congress members.

Lai may be the next candidate for president of Taiwan in 2024.

The continued support from the U.S. has encouraged Taiwan, who has spoken repeatedly of their “rock-solid commitment” to democratically run Taiwan.

It has already caused friction between the U.S. and China.

China and the United States could end up in a military conflict if the United States encourages Taiwan’s independence, Beijing’s ambassador https://www.reuters.com/world/china/support-taiwan-independence-could-spark-us-military-conflict-with-china-chinese-2022-01-28 to Washington said in a U.S. radio interview broadcast on Friday.