The UK Foreign Office (FCDO) requested that a visit by former Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen be postponed to avoid provoking China ahead of David Lammy’s upcoming trip, according to The Guardian. Lammy, set to visit China next week for high-level meetings, will make his first trip as foreign secretary. The British-Taiwanese all-party parliamentary group (APPG) had been discussing hosting Tsai in parliament this month, but the visit was delayed after the Foreign Office suggested it could jeopardize Lammy’s planned visit to China.

“We got a note from the FCDO via the Taiwanese representative to the UK,” said one person who had been involved in the discussions to host Tsai. “It said: ‘Please can you defer this for a while because the foreign secretary is about to make a “goodwill visit” to China and this would absolutely put the kibosh on it.’”

The disclosure is awkward for the new Labour government, which has been working to mend relations with Beijing after they worsened under the Conservatives. Ministers are considering resuming high-level economic talks with China, and Chancellor Rachel Reeves is preparing for a potential trip to the country next year.
The visit by former Taiwanese president Tsai has been pushed back to the spring. Although parliamentary approval isn’t required to organize the visit, the APPG was expecting support from Whitehall, particularly for security arrangements. Parliamentary authorities were also involved in the discussions.