TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) will try to stop over in America on his way to visit a Taiwan ally before the end of the year, or as long as possible before US President Donald Trump’s April visit to China, reports said Tuesday.

Bonnie Glaser, the managing director of the Indo-Pacific program at the German Marshall Fund, made the remark at a seminar hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies on Monday, per CNA. Trump was likely to want to avoid upsetting Beijing just before his visit, so Taiwan would want Lai to stop over much earlier, she said.

Glaser mentioned the end of this year as the most likely time, though Lai might not stop in New York. Reports in July said the Trump administration had turned down a request for a New York stopover, though all sides, including Taiwan’s Presidential Office, said at the time that Lai had not been planning an overseas trip.

Former President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) stopped in Miami during her first term and only visited New York for a trip during her second term, according to Bonnie Glaser. As on previous occasions, the US would follow the principles of “safety, comfort, practicality, and respect” when determining the details of a stopover, she said.

The Asia expert noted Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping not mentioning Taiwan during their Oct. 30 South Korea meeting as “highly unusual.” She added she had never heard Chinese officials mention anything about Xi having said China would not attack Taiwan during the Trump presidency. The US president was trying to box in Xi by claiming he had made such a promise, Glaser said.

At the April meeting, Xi will try to persuade Trump that adjusting his Taiwan policies will maintain stability in US-China relations and avoid military clashes, according to Glaser. Trump’s main aim will be to avoid being drawn into a cross-strait conflict, she added.