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APEC is one of the few international organisations to which
Chinese-claimed Taiwan belongs, since Beijing, which views the
island as a Chinese province, and not a country, blocks its
participation in most others.
Against the backdrop of military tension between Beijing and
Taipei, past APEC summits have served as a rare conduit for
direct engagement between Taiwan and China, which is also a
member.
The U.S. official, Matt Murray, visited Taiwan on Tuesday and
Wednesday to discuss with senior officials issues related to
APEC and the robust U.S.-Taiwan economic relationship, the
American Institute in Taiwan said in a brief statement.
Murray discussed topics such as high-level meetings set for
August in Seattle on aspects of disaster preparedness, food
security, health and the economy, energy, women and the economy,
and small and medium enterprises, the statement added.
It did not say whom he had met while in Taiwan.
The main leaders' summit will take place in San Francisco in
November.
Taiwan presidents do not attend APEC summits, but the island is
represented either by senior former officials or business
leaders, such as Morris Chang, founder of semiconductor maker
TSMC, who went to the Bangkok summit last year.
Chang had a brief conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping
at the time, and also discussed semiconductors with U.S. Vice
President Kamala Harris.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
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