U.S. President Joe Biden will send a delegation of former government officials to Taipei after Taiwan’s 2024 presidential elections, according to the Financial Times. The report released Thursday says that the bipartisan delegation will be led by former Democratic official James Steinberg and former Republican official Stephen Hadley. The delegation will also include the Chairperson of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Laura Rosenberger. 

The report quoted sources familiar with the trip who said it could backfire and increase tensions between the United States and Beijing. One former official said sending the delegation so soon after Taiwan’s elections would look like a “bear hug” to Taipei, just as the U.S. and China are working to repair their relationship. Another source said that the trip could be used by both Beijing and Taipei to further their own agendas in ways contradictory to U.S. interests. 

However, others had a more positive view of the delegation. China expert at the German Marshall Fund Bonnie Glaser was quoted as saying that demonstrating bipartisan support for Taiwan’s elections could be beneficial. 

An unnamed senior U.S. official was quoted as saying that the delegation aims to communicate clearly with the new Taiwan president about the “uniqueness of the unofficial relationship” between the two sides. 

President Biden has previously sent delegations of former officials to Taiwan in 2021 and 2022.