EXCLUSIVE-Taiwan's Lai set to push back U.S. stopover as U.S.-China trade talks continue

By Trevor Hunnicutt and Yimou Lee

WASHINGTON/TAIPEI, July 28 (Reuters) - Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te is set to delay until at least later this year a diplomatically sensitive trip his team had floated to Washington for August that would have included transit stops in the United States, according to three people familiar with the matter.

Such a trip was bound to infuriate Beijing at a time when U.S. President Donald Trump is trying to negotiate a deal on trade with China.

The trip, which would have also included stops in Latin America starting next week, was never formally confirmed but had been discussed with the governments involved.

Lai is set to delay the trip for a handful of reasons - including the need to organize his government's response to extreme weather in Taiwan, one of the sources said, but also because of the ongoing U.S. tariff talks with Taipei and Beijing, respectively. Top U.S. and Chinese economic officials huddled in Stockholm, Sweden, on Monday to resume talks.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Taiwan's Presidential Office was not immediately available for comment late on Monday night.

China's embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.