TAIPEI (TVBS News) — President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) made no foreign trips in 2025, caught between two colliding forces that defined Taiwan's diplomatic year: the island's growing economic leverage as the world's chipmaker, and Washington's determination to manage Beijing ahead of a Trump-Xi summit. The Trump administration denied Lai's request to transit through the United States in August, blocking a planned trip to diplomatic allies Paraguay, Guatemala and Belize, according to people familiar with the matter.
Washington was concerned the stopover could disrupt trade negotiations with China and a planned summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in April 2026, the people said. U.S. transits have historically enabled Taiwan's presidents to meet with American lawmakers and officials, making these meetings diplomatically significant despite their unofficial nature. Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) expressed confidence in December that future U.S. transit stops would not be problematic, saying Taiwan remains confident it can visit its Latin American allies via the United States.
"We don't think having transit stops in the US will be an issue," Lin said in an interview. "Based on our communication, we are confident in the near future, we can just have a visit to the Latin American countries by way of the United States." The diplomatic challenges extended to Central America, where Honduran President Nasry Asfura was inaugurated on Tuesday (Jan. 27) without Taiwan receiving an invitation despite his campaign pledge to restore ties with Taipei.
Honduras switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 2023, becoming the ninth country to do so during the Tsai Ing-wen administration, Lai's predecessor. Lu Chao-jui (盧朝睿), deputy head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' (MOFA, 外交部) Department of Latin American and Caribbean Affairs, said Taiwan was not invited because it does not have official diplomatic ties with Honduras. Yet Taiwan's informal ties flourished during the same period, with parliament members from around the world traveling to Taiwan.
India and Taiwan recorded US$12.5 billion (around NT$392 billion) in two-way trade in 2025, a new record, according to Vice Foreign Minister Baushuan Ger (葛葆萱). These contrasts highlight Taiwan's paradoxical diplomatic position in 2025: its semiconductors remain essential to the global economy, powering smartphones, data centers and AI systems worldwide, yet its president cannot travel freely. The world comes to Taiwan; Taiwan's leader, for now, cannot go to the world. ◼ (At time of reporting, US$1 equals approximately NT$31.35)