America’s de facto embassy in Taiwan has reopened after a $250m renovation, with an attending US official hailing the new building as “a symbol of strength and vibrancy” of the relationship between the US and Taiwan.

A ceremony at the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) on Tuesday, which took place while the landmark summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore had the world’s attention, was attended by a delegation from Washington that included Marie Royce, the US assistant secretary of state for educational and cultural affairs.



Taiwan’s president, Tsai Ing-wen, several Taiwanese government officials as well as legislators were also present.

During the ceremony, US ambassador James Moriarty and Royce reiterated Washington’s commitment to uphold the relationship with Taiwan, calling the new facility “a symbol of strength and vibrancy of the US and Taiwan partnership in the 21st century”.

From left: chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan James Moriarty, US assistant secretary of state for education and culture affairs Marie Royce, Taiwan’s president Tsai Ing-wen, principal deputy director ambassador William Moser and AIT director Kin Moy. Photograph: Chiang Ying-ying/AP

“AIT’s new home is a tangible symbol that reflects the strength of our ties,” said Royce. “It’s a state-of-the-art facility that will make possible even greater cooperation for many years to come.”

The ceremony comes at a time when bilateral relations between Beijing and Washington have been severely tested over ongoing trade negotiations and rising tensions in the disputed South China Sea.

China has been ramping up pressure on Taiwan since the election in 2016,

blocking the self-ruled island from participating in international organisations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and poaching its diplomatic allies.

Beijing has also increased the frequency of military exercises in the last few months, including deploying its own aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, in the Taiwan Strait.

On Monday night, China’s state-run tabloid Global Times published an editorial, suggesting Beijing should warn the US and Taiwan of possible consequences for any provocative move. “We must draw a red line for the US and Taiwan,” Global Times said through the editorial. “Once crossed, a serious Taiwan Straits crisis will be triggered.”

Despite media speculation that Trump would send the new national security advisor John Bolton to the ceremony, the US president exercised restrain.

Kharis Templeman, a social science research associate at Stanford University’s Walter H. Shorenstein Asia Pacific research center, said that given the delicate nature of the summit in Singapore, the Trump administration may have chosen not to use the occasion to make a strong symbolic statement.

However, Templeman suggested the ceremony should not be interpreted as revealing the Trump administration’s Taiwan policy in general. “High-level visits can be arranged at any time, not just when AIT inaugurates a new building,” Templeman told the Guardian. “Any US administration would have made a similar set of statements at the official opening.”

The American Institute in Taiwan is not an official embassy, but a non-profit institution established by the US government to represent its interests since Washington switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China in 1979 under the One China policy.