Foreign Policy and National Security

NPR's Ailsa Chang speaks with Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., about his visit to Taiwan with a bipartisan delegation and if the U.S. approach of "strategic ambiguity" is effective in China-Taiwan relations.

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

Representative Ro Khanna is leading a congressional delegation to Taiwan Saturday to bolster economic ties as the relationship between Washington and Beijing comes under fresh strain.

Across the political spectrum there seems to be a consensus that the decadeslong free flow of trade, money and technology from the U.S. to China must be fundamentally overhauled, but several lawmakers involved in the effort are confronting the difficulty of an overhaul that doesn't sever economic ties between the two countries.

Representative Ro Khanna, a California Democrat who represents much of the Silicon Valley, said he plans trips to both China and Taiwan this year in an effort to stabilize the U.S.-Chinese trade relationship and strengthen ties to the Taiwanese semiconductor industry.

Business leaders in his district advised Khanna on the importance of going to both places, he said, adding that his tech-heavy constituency influences his perspective.