House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) wrapped up her controversial visit to Taiwan this week. She reiterated the United States’ support of the East Asian island nation.

“Our delegation came here to send an unequivocal message: America stands with Taiwan,” Pelosi said following a meeting with Taiwan’s president. Despite Chinese leader Xi Jinping warning President Biden during a phone call that America was “playing with fire” with Pelosi’s visit, and military theatrics such as Chinese missile exercises, the trip went off without any significant drama. Straight Arrow News contributor Peter Zeihan says that’s because despite all the bluster, China simply isn’t dumb enough to provoke a conflict with the U.S.

Excerpted from Peter’s Aug. 2 “Zeihan on Geopolitics” newsletter:

The Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, has arrived in Taiwan. As such, she is the highest-ranking U.S. official to make a visit to the island since her predecessor, Speaker Newt Gingrich, visited in 1997. While there is likely little both would agree on, the former Speaker has been quite supportive of Speaker Pelosi’s decision to visit Taiwan. China has been huffing and puffing about the visit since it was announced, but there’s very little Beijing could do short of shooting down Pelosi’s plane. Which isn’t likely to happen.

Beijing has viewed Taiwan as a breakaway province since the time of Mao, and has worked diligently to erode international recognition of Taipei under its One China Principle. The US since Nixon has held off formally recognizing Taiwan as an independent country, but since the end of the Cold War Washington has moved steadily toward an economic and security relationship with Taiwan that falls just short of official recognition, to Beijing’s dismay.