Ambassador to China Terry Branstad was scheduled to visit Tibet this week, a U.S. embassy spokesperson said, the first visit to the region by a U.S. ambassador since 2015, amid escalating trade tensions between Washington and Beijing. The visit follows passage of a law in December that requires the United States to deny visas to Chinese officials in charge of implementing policies that restrict access to Tibet for foreigners, legislation that was denounced by China. In December, China criticised the United States for passing the Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act, saying it was "resolutely opposed" to the U.S. legislation on what China considers an internal affair, and it risked causing "serious harm" to their relations. Beijing sent troops into remote, mountainous Tibet in 1950 in what it officially terms a peaceful liberation and has ruled there with an iron fist ever since. (Reporting by Tony Munroe in BEIJING and Nandita Bose and David Brunnstrom in WASHINGTON; Editing by Michael Perry)

Source: The Star May 20, 2019 01:02 UTC