US diplomat Keith Krach meets Taiwanese leaders but new dialogue still being planned
- Undersecretary of state exchanged views with the island’s officials on economic ties and the new trade talks
- He also had dinner with President Tsai Ing-wen during visit, amid rising tensions with Beijing
Krach – the most senior State Department representative to visit the island in 41 years – held a closed-door meeting with officials led by Vice-Premier Shen Jong-chin and Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua on Friday, to exchange views on US-Taiwan economic ties.
They also discussed a new economic dialogue that was announced by Washington last month – only after Tsai agreed to lift import bans on US beef containing the controversial additive ractopamine and beef from cattle aged over 30 months.
Taiwanese media had reported that Krach would visit the self-ruled island to begin the new trade talks, but instead the two sides discussed what should be included in the dialogue.
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That drew criticism from main opposition party the Kuomintang, which said Tsai should never have agreed to remove the import bans, which were in place out of safety concerns.
