TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A bipartisan delegation of U.S. lawmakers arrived in Taipei on Sunday (May 26) for a week of talks on U.S.-Taiwan relations with the new Lai administration and civil society leaders.  

The trip was announced last week by Congress member Michael McCaul, the head of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and is part of a larger trip that will include other stops in the Indo-Pacific region, according to a press release from the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT).

In addition to McCaul of Texas, the congressional delegation includes Representatives Young Kim and Jimmy Panetta of California, Joe Wilson of South Carolina, Andy Barr of Kentucky, and Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania. 

The group arrived in Taiwan on May 26 and will stay until May 30. Over the coming days, the group will meet with senior leaders in Taiwan to discuss U.S.-Taiwan relations, regional security, trade and investment, as well as other issues of mutual interest, according to AIT.

It is expected that the group will meet with President Lai Ching-te (賴清德), with their visit occurring one week after his inauguration. The congressional visit also comes after China concluded two days of military exercises around Taiwan.   

Jimmy Panetta told Fox News Digital that the trip demonstrates the “necessary partnership” between Taiwan and the U.S. “I look forward to congratulating President Lai Ching-te on his inauguration and continuing to strengthen the bond between our two nations,” said Panetta. 

McCaul said that the bipartisan group’s visit to Taiwan this week “sends a signal to the Chinese Communist Party that the United States stands with the people of Taiwan and will work to maintain the status quo across the Taiwan Strait.”