Bipartisan U.S. House delegation meets foreign minister in Taipei

Taipei, Aug. 1 (CNA) A bipartisan U.S. House delegation met with Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) in Taipei on Friday to discuss economic cooperation and regional security, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA).

Lin hosted a luncheon for the delegation, led by Republican Rep. Young Kim, chair of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on East Asia and the Pacific, MOFA said in a press statement issued Saturday.

The group also included Democratic Rep. Suhas Subramanyam and Republican Reps. Michael Cloud and Randy Feenstra.

During the meeting, Lin expressed hope that Taiwan and the United States would work together to build secure and reliable "non-red" supply chains, referring to supply chains that do not rely on Chinese components.

He thanked U.S. lawmakers for their longstanding bipartisan support for Taiwan, and Kim in particular for championing several Taiwan-friendly bills.

Amid mounting military and economic pressure from China, Taiwan would neither seek to provoke Beijing nor yield to its pressure, Lin said.

The foreign minister also highlighted recent progress in Taiwan-U.S. economic relations and thanked Washington for encouraging state and local officials, as well as business leaders, to deepen exchanges with Taiwan.

The recently launched direct flight between Taipei and Washington was expected to facilitate closer bilateral exchanges, he added.

Kim said the visit demonstrated firm bipartisan congressional support for strengthening Taiwan-U.S. relations, according to MOFA.

The U.S. Congress attached great importance to Taiwan's security and international participation and had encouraged allies and partners to pay greater attention to developments across the Taiwan Strait, she said.

Kim also welcomed Taiwan's efforts to strengthen its self-defense capabilities, MOFA added.