TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan envoy to the US, Alexander Yui Tah-ray (俞大㵢) addressed lawmakers at the Kansas House of Representatives on Thursday.

Yui visited Topeka to reaffirm the sister-state relationship between Taiwan and Kansas and to discuss the growing threat that China poses to the global order. He said China poses a threat to Taiwan and seeks to replace the US as the world’s preeminent power, reported the Kansas Reflector.

Taiwan established sister-state ties with Kansas in 1989 and is a major trade partner for the state. During Yui’s visit, Kansas legislators passed a resolution that further strengthened that relationship.

Taiwan provides semiconductors and other critical manufacturing parts to multiple industries in Kansas. Meanwhile, Kansas is a major provider of agricultural products to Taiwan.

Kansas will soon welcome the Taiwanese battery manufacturer Apogee Power, which will open its first US facility in Liberal, Kansas. Blake Carpenter, the speaker pro tempore of the Kansas House of Representatives, recognized Taiwan as an important economic partner, calling the country a vibrant democracy, per the Kansas Reflector.

The Taiwan envoy highlighted how the US and Taiwan must work together on critical technologies like AI to ensure that China does not achieve supremacy in the industry. Yui welcomed visitors and investors from Kansas to Taiwan, and emphasized that Taiwan hopes to increase investment and find more trade partners in Kansas and throughout the US.

Yui is working to spread awareness of the threat China poses to the US. Last week, he spoke at the Miami Security Forum, hosted by the Heritage Foundation, where he discussed Taiwan’s ongoing efforts to increase deterrence to ensure peace in the Taiwan Strait.