Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar met with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on Monday during the highest-level visit by an American Cabinet official since the break in formal diplomatic ties between Washington and Taipei in 1979.

Tsai said to reporters at the Presidential Office Building that said she looked for “even more breakthroughs and fruits of cooperation“ in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic and other issues to “jointly contribute to the sustained peaceful development of the Indo-Pacific region.”.

Azar praised Taiwan’s response to COVID-19 and said its success was a tribute to the “open, transparent, democratic nature of Taiwan’s society and culture.”.