Marsha Blackburn visits Taiwan amid rising tensions with China | USA TODAY

Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn visited Taiwan following House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit earlier this month.

RELATED: Chinese leaders slam Nancy Pelosi for Taiwan visit https://bit.ly/3KnNoyw

It's the second visit by members of Congress since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's trip earlier this month raised tensions with China. Tsai pointed to the large-scale military exercises that China launched in response to Pelosi's visit, as well as Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as posing challenges to democratic governments such as the U.S. and Taiwan.

Blackburn reaffirmed shared values between the two governments and said she "looked forward to continuing to support Taiwan as they push forward as an independent nation." Tsai and Blackburn also underscored the importance of economic links, especially in the semiconductor sector, where Taiwan is a world leader and the U.S. is seeking greater investment at home.

China claims self-ruled Taiwan as its own territory, to be taken by force if necessary, and sees high-level foreign visits as interference in its affairs and de facto recognition of Taiwanese sovereignty.

» Subscribe to USA TODAY: http://bit.ly/1xa3XAh
» Watch more on this and other topics from USA TODAY: https://bit.ly/3q3ON4B
» USA TODAY delivers current local and national news, sports, entertainment, finance, technology, and more through award-winning journalism, photos, videos and VR.

#Taiwan #China #Congress