"China Warns Against McCarthy's Meeting with Taiwan's President, but Meeting Proceeds"

China has warned House Speaker Kevin McCarthy not to meet with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen during her transit through the United States, saying it would undermine regional peace and worsen U.S.-China relations. Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry dismissed criticism of the planned meeting, which it confirmed would take place in California on Wednesday. McCarthy’s office said the bipartisan meeting would take place at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif. China sees such outreach by U.S. officials as an expression of support for the independence of Taiwan, a self-ruling island democracy that Beijing claims as its territory.