TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The U.S. State Department has a special team to handle Chinese economic coercion toward American allies and partners.

The group consists of eight members led by Melanie Hart, the China policy coordinator for Undersecretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment, Jose Fernandez, Bloomberg reported.

The team first analyzes a country’s “trade vulnerabilities” with China and then seeks ways to diversify its exports. Approximately 12 other countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Europe have come to the team for consultations on how to best deal with Chinese economic pressure, per Bloomberg. 

The team was established after Beijing downgraded ties with Lithuania and halted trade in response to the opening of the Taiwan representative office in the Baltic nation’s capital in 2021. 

Asia Society Vice President Wendy Cutler told Bloomberg that one motivating factor was that the U.S. realized it had not done enough to support its allies in the face of China’s economic coercion, particularly with South Korea and Australia.

Taiwan has embraced market diversification after China stopped importing its pineapples, fish, and citrus in recent years, though some bans have been lifted. As a result of economic coercion, Taiwan has begun decoupling from China and searching elsewhere for export partners.

According to the Ministry of Finance, Taiwan’s exports to China in 2023 totaled US$152.25 billion (NT$4.94 trillion) and accounted for 35.2% of its total exports in 2023, the lowest in 21 years.