President-elect Donald Trump seemed to rule out Saturday a meeting with the president of Taiwan when she travels to America next month.
Trump angered China and seemed to upend decades of US policy this month when he took a congratulatory phone call from Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen.
Tsai will transit in Houston January 7-8 as she travels to Central America and stops over in San Francisco January 13-14 on her way home.
Beijing has asked Washington to bar Tsai from flying through US airspace.
Trump, speaking to reporters Saturday at his estate in Florida, was asked if he would meet with Tsai if she stopped in the US. He takes office January 20.
“Stops by here?,” Trump said.
“In the United States or in Palm Beach? Nobody’s ever mentioned that to me. I’m not meeting with anybody until after January 20th because it’s a little bit inappropriate. From a protocol standpoint. But we’ll see,” Trump said. “We’ll see.”