New York, New York - Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen arrived in New York on Wednesday amid criticism from China over the visit.

Tsai is en route to diplomatic allies Guatemala and Belize, with stopovers in the US on the way there and on the way back.

In New York, Tsai said the solid partnership between Taiwan and the US was due to common values and interests, as well as long-term efforts of overseas Taiwanese, state-run Central News Agency reported.

At a dinner with more than 700 Taiwanese expatriates, Tsai said that Taiwan has demonstrated its determination to defend itself and the capability to help safeguard the regional stability.

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Taiwan would further work with other partners in the democracy camp to "firmly walk on the path of democracy and freedom," she said.

Beijing condemned Tsai's visit on Wednesday.

"We firmly oppose this and will take resolute countermeasures," Zhu Fenglian, the spokesperson for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, told a news conference in Beijing.

China considers self-ruled Taiwan part of its territory, despite the island democracy having an independent government since 1949.

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However, the White House said Tsai's stopovers were consistent with the US's long-standing unofficial relationship with Taiwan.

National Security Council communications director John Kirby insisted transits were not visits, but rather private and unofficial.

"The People's Republic of China should not use this transit as a pretext to step up any aggressive activity around the Taiwan Strait. The United States and China have differences when it comes to Taiwan, but we have managed those differences for more than 40 years," Kirby said.

Tsai is due to head to Guatemala on March 31. On the way back, she will stop in Los Angeles. Media reports have suggested that Tsai would meet US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California on April 5 and give a speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.