Taoyuan, Taiwan - As she prepared to fly to the US on Wednesday, Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen said China's threatened of retaliation would not stop her from making the trip.

China threatened to take action against Taiwan if top officials agreed to meet with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy during an upcoming international trip.

"If she has contact with US House Speaker McCarthy, it will be another provocation that seriously violates the one-China principle, harms China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and destroys peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait," Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson of China's Taiwan Affairs Office, said in Beijing, according to Reuters.

"We firmly oppose this and will definitely take measures to resolutely fight back," Zhu added.

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Tsai is visiting Guatemala and Belize, flying through New York on the first leg of the trip and through Los Angeles on the return. She is expected to meet McCarthy while in California, though there has been no official confirmation of the reports.

"External pressure will not hinder our determination to go to the world," Tsai said before her departure from Taiwan's main international airport at Taoyuan, without directly referencing China.

"We are calm and confident, will neither yield nor provoke. Taiwan will firmly walk on the road of freedom and democracy and go into the world," she continued. "Although this road is rough, Taiwan is not alone."

Taiwan has faced increasing pressure amid a recent increase in official meetings with US officials, including visits to Taipei from US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a congressional delegation led by Senator Ed Markey, and another delegation led by Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb in August 2022.

A senior US official has pointed out that Tsai often transits through the US on trips to the Americas and that she regularly engages in meetings with members of Congress in that time.

"So there's absolutely no reason for Beijing to use this upcoming transit as an excuse or a pretext to carry out aggressive or coercive activities aimed at Taiwan," the official told Reuters.

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Taiwan has had an independent government since 1949, but China considers the island part of its territory. Beijing rejects official contacts between other countries and Taipei.

Currently, only 13 countries have formal ties with Taiwan after Honduras switched its recognition to China on Sunday.