Kevin McCarthy Slams Xi Jinping After Meeting Taiwan President, Says China Can't 'Tell Me…Who I Can Speak To'

U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy underscored congressional unity in supporting Taiwan against Xi Jinping as Democratic and Republican lawmakers met Taiwanese President Tsai Ing Wen on Wednesday. 

What Happened: Following a meeting with the Taiwanese president at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Los Angeles, McCarthy said, "I felt our meeting today provided greater peace and stability for the world. America's support for the people of Taiwan will remain resolute, unwavering and bipartisan."

"There's no need for retaliation," the speaker said in his message to Beijing, according to The Hill.

Meanwhile, China lashed out at McCarthy's meeting with Tsai and warned of countermeasures and consequences. The Chinese embassy in the U.S., in an email to lawmakers, said that such meetings signal "serious political provocations."

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Although McCarthy said he has no plans to travel to Taiwan, he added he would not be intimidated from making the trip. "That doesn't mean I will not go," he said, adding, "I am the Speaker of the House. There is no place that China is going to tell me where I can go or who I can speak to, whether you be foe or whether you be friend."

Speaking alongside the U.S. lawmaker, the Tsai said, "To preserve peace, we must be strong," and "we are stronger when we are together."

"Today's meeting between President Tsai of Taiwan and Speaker McCarthy is to be commended for its leadership, its bipartisan participation and its distinguished and historic venue," Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a rare praise for McCarthy. 

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