The United States’ top trade representative met with her Taiwanese counterpart on Friday to discuss measures to strengthen trade and investment links between the two nations.

Prior to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) ministerial conference, US Trade Representative Katherine Tai met with Taiwan’s top trade negotiator John Deng in Bangkok.

According to a statement from USTR, the officials discussed “the strength and sustainability of the economic partnership between the United States and Taiwan.”

And they “directed their teams to explore concrete ways to deepen the US-Taiwan trade and investment relationship and to meet again in the coming weeks to discuss the path forward.”

Such high-level meetings can stir up diplomatic tensions with China, which claims self-ruled, democratic Taiwan as its own territory.

The United States has increasingly voiced support for Taiwan’s role in international organizations, a step fiercely opposed by Beijing. All three economies are APEC members.

China’s authoritarian leaders have vowed to one day seize Taiwan, by force if necessary.

They have ramped up economic, military and diplomatic pressure on the island since the 2016 election of Tsai Ing-wen, who views Taiwan as a sovereign nation.

China often sends military aircraft into Taiwan’s air defense zone to display displeasure.

Taiwan has widespread support in the United States, which is compelled by federal law to furnish the island with self-defense weapons.

In 2021, the US imported $87 billion in products from Taiwan, with more than half of those being capital goods.