Pelosi's Taiwan Visit and the PLA Exercises
On 2–3 August 2022 US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan, the first sitting Speaker to do so in 25 years. China called it a serious political provocation: the PLA held live-fire exercises in six zones encircling Taiwan and fired conventional missiles into waters east of the island, and the Foreign Ministry sanctioned Pelosi and cancelled or suspended eight China–US dialogues and areas of cooperation. Western analysts have called it the "Fourth Taiwan Strait Crisis".
Background
In the summer of 2022, reports that US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi planned to visit Taiwan sharply raised tensions between China and the United States. On 28 July Xi Jinping spoke by phone with US President Joe Biden; on Taiwan he said that both sides of the Strait belonged to one China, that China firmly opposed "Taiwan independence" separatism and external interference, and that "public opinion cannot be defied; those who play with fire will perish by it. It is hoped that the US side will see this clearly". According to the Chinese readout, Biden said that the US one-China policy had not changed and would not change and that the US did not support "Taiwan independence". The last House Speaker to visit Taiwan, Newt Gingrich, had made a brief stop there in April 1997.
The Visit
At 10:44 p.m. on 2 August 2022, Pelosi and a delegation of Democratic House members landed at Taipei's Songshan Airport on a US Air Force aircraft — the first visit to Taiwan by a sitting House Speaker in 25 years. China's Foreign Ministry issued a statement that night calling the visit a serious violation of the one-China principle and the three China–US joint communiqués and "a major political provocation to upgrade US official exchanges with Taiwan"; Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng summoned US Ambassador Nicholas Burns that night to lodge stern representations.
On 3 August Pelosi visited the Legislative Yuan, met Tsai Ing-wen at the Presidential Office and toured the Jing-Mei White Terror Memorial Park. Tsai conferred on her the Order of Propitious Clouds with Special Grand Cordon and said that, in the face of continuing and deliberately heightened military threats, Taiwan would not back down and would do its utmost to strengthen its self-defence; Pelosi said one purpose of the visit was to remind the world of the firm commitment the United States made to Taiwan when it passed the Taiwan Relations Act 43 years earlier. That evening she left for South Korea after a visit of nearly 19 hours.
The PLA Exercises
After Pelosi arrived, the PLA Eastern Theater Command announced a series of joint military operations around Taiwan. From 12:00 on 4 August to 12:00 on 7 August the PLA held major military exercises with live fire in six zones encircling the island. On the afternoon of 4 August, Eastern Theater Command rocket forces carried out "multi-area, multi-type conventional missile strikes" on designated waters east of Taiwan, all of which, it said, hit their targets precisely. Taiwan said the PLA fired 11 Dongfeng-series ballistic missiles that day; Japanese Defence Minister Nobuo Kishi said five of the nine ballistic missiles launched by China were believed to have landed in Japan's exclusive economic zone — the first time Chinese ballistic missiles had done so — and Japan protested, while China said it did not accept the notion of a so-called Japanese EEZ there. Research by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) found that the exercises were larger and closer to Taiwan than those of the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis of 1995–1996 and, for the first time, included ballistic missiles flying over Taiwan.
Diplomatic Countermeasures and White Paper
On 5 August China's Foreign Ministry announced sanctions on Pelosi and her immediate family, together with eight countermeasures against the United States: cancelling theater commanders' talks, defense policy coordination talks and the Military Maritime Consultative Agreement meetings, and suspending cooperation on repatriation of illegal immigrants, criminal legal assistance, combating transnational crime and counter-narcotics, as well as talks on climate change. On 10 August the Taiwan Affairs Office and the State Council Information Office issued the white paper "The Taiwan Question and China's Reunification in the New Era", the Chinese government's third white paper on Taiwan after those of 1993 and 2000.
After this episode, large-scale PLA exercises around Taiwan became a recurring pattern: the Eastern Theater Command held major drills around the island after Tsai met US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in the United States in April 2023 and after Lai Ching-te took office in 2024.
Gallery
Narrative Comparison
| Source | Narrative |
|---|---|
| Chinese official position (Foreign Ministry statement, Eastern Theater Command) | Pelosi's visit to China's Taiwan region seriously violated the one-China principle and the three China–US joint communiqués, gravely undermined the political foundation of China–US relations, seriously infringed China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and sent a seriously wrong signal to "Taiwan independence" separatist forces. As part of the US government, Congress should abide by the one-China policy, and any visit by Pelosi to Taiwan was a major political provocation to upgrade US–Taiwan official exchanges. The root cause of tension in the Strait was the Taiwan authorities "relying on the US to seek independence" and the US "using Taiwan to contain China" — a very dangerous game of playing with fire. The PLA's joint operations around Taiwan were a stern deterrent against US–Taiwan collusion and provocation and a necessary step to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity. |
| Taiwan (Tsai Ing-wen, as reported by the Central News Agency) | Receiving Pelosi, Tsai Ing-wen said that in the face of continuing and deliberately heightened military threats Taiwan would not back down, would do its utmost to strengthen its own self-defence, and was a reliable and trustworthy partner of the United States. She praised Pelosi as Taiwan's staunchest friend and decorated her in thanks for her long-standing support. Pelosi said the visit was meant to show that the United States would not abandon the commitment it made to Taiwan when it passed the Taiwan Relations Act 43 years earlier. |
| Western think-tank analysis (Center for Strategic and International Studies, 2023–2024) | The CSIS ChinaPower Project calls the situation after Pelosi's visit the "Fourth Taiwan Strait Crisis", arguing that China responded with unprecedented military activity and strong punitive diplomatic measures, and that the August exercises were larger and closer to Taiwan than those of the 1995–1996 Third Taiwan Strait Crisis and included unprecedented live-firing of ballistic missiles over Taiwan. Comparing them with the drills that followed Tsai Ing-wen's April 2023 meeting with Kevin McCarthy, it concludes that Beijing's later measures were less heavy-handed and more calculated, suggesting it learned from August 2022; the subsequent "Joint Sword" series made large-scale exercises a recurring pattern. |
Key Milestones
- Xi–Biden phone call
On the call Xi warned on Taiwan that "those who play with fire will perish by it"; Biden said the US one-China policy had not changed.
- Pelosi lands in Taipei
At 10:44 p.m. Pelosi's delegation landed at Songshan Airport — the first sitting House Speaker to visit in 25 years; China's Foreign Ministry issued a statement and summoned the US ambassador.
- Meets Tsai and departs
Pelosi visited the Legislative Yuan, met Tsai Ing-wen and received a decoration, leaving for South Korea that evening after nearly 19 hours.
- Live-fire drills in six zones; missile strikes
The PLA began live-fire exercises in six zones around Taiwan (until noon on 7 August) and fired conventional missiles into waters east of the island; Japan said five landed in its EEZ.
- Sanctions on Pelosi; eight countermeasures
China's Foreign Ministry sanctioned Pelosi and her immediate family and cancelled or suspended eight China–US dialogues and areas of cooperation in military affairs, law enforcement and climate.
- Taiwan white paper issued
The Taiwan Affairs Office and State Council Information Office issued "The Taiwan Question and China's Reunification in the New Era", the government's third Taiwan white paper.
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Chronicles of Modern China. (2026, November 2). Pelosi's Taiwan Visit and the PLA Exercises. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://www.cmcarchive.org/events/pelosi-taiwan-visit-2022
“Pelosi's Taiwan Visit and the PLA Exercises.” Chronicles of Modern China. Last modified November 2, 2026. Accessed November 2, 2026. https://www.cmcarchive.org/events/pelosi-taiwan-visit-2022.
Chronicles of Modern China. Pelosi's Taiwan Visit and the PLA Exercises[EB/OL]. (2026-11-02)[2026-11-02]. https://www.cmcarchive.org/events/pelosi-taiwan-visit-2022.