China restraint on Taiwan shows Xi has bigger concerns now

Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen meets U.S. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California on April 5, 2023. - Reuters

BEIJING (Bloomberg): After former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi touched down in Taiwan last year, it took less than an hour for China to announce missile tests and military drills encircling the island.

By that standard, Beijing’s initial reaction to President Tsai Ing-wen’s unprecedented meeting on US soil with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has been muted.