Senior State Department official Charles Rivkin says that he will visit Taiwan at the end of this month to discuss economic issues.
Rivkin made the announcement during a hearing before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs on Thursday. He told reporters after the hearing that Taiwan is an "extremely important business partner" for the United States, and called his visit to Taiwan a "symbolic step."
Rivkin leads the US State Department’s Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs. The bureau is responsible for managing trade negotiations, investment treaties, economic sanctions, transportation affairs, telecommunications policy and the protection of intellectual property rights.
He will be the latest in a series of US officials to visit Taiwan. Rivkin has met with Taiwanese officials in the past. Economics Minister John Deng last met Rivkin on a trip to Washington D.C. in February.