China responded sternly Thursday to a U.S. congressional delegation’s visit to Taiwan, demanding the U.S. stop any official contact with the self-governing island.

Taiwan Presidential Office, Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen, second right, shakes hands with members of United States Congressmen as Rep. Mike Gallagher, the Republican chair of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, right, looks on during a meeting in Taipei, Taiwan, Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024. A group of United States Congress members met with Taiwan's president Thursday in a show of support that's certain to draw scrutiny from China, which opposes such visits and sees them as a challenge to its claim of sovereignty over the island.

“China opposes any form of official interaction between the U.S. and Taiwan authorities and rejects U.S. interference in Taiwan affairs in whatever form or under whatever pretext," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said. She urged Washington to be “mindful of the extreme complexity and sensitivity” of the Taiwan issue.

Mao spoke shortly after leaders of the House Select Committee on China’s Communist Party met with Taiwanese leaders on a high-profile trip aimed at showing U.S. support for the island’s democratically elected government.

The congressional visit drew a stronger-than-usual response. Beijing has long protested any official interaction the U.S. and Taiwan but is particularly dissatisfied with the House select committee, which was formed in 2023 and is known for its hawkish views of China's ruling party.

However, the visit is unlikely to trigger major military actions as then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit did in the summer of 2022. Beijing and Washington are seeking to stabilize their rocky relations following a November meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The congressional visit coincided with an announcement by the U.S. State Department of a $75 million arms sale to Taiwan. The sale is relatively minor in size and does not include weaponry. Instead, it covers communications and global positioning systems as well as related technology.

Mao criticized the sale as “undermining China’s sovereignty and security interests and harming China-U.S. relations and peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.”

The U.S. is obligated under a 1979 law to provide Taiwan with sufficient military hardware and technology to deter invasion, and its arm sales to Taiwan have always drawn strong opposition from Beijing, which considers the island as part of Chinese territory and vows to take it, by force if necessary.

Taiwan is also part of the $95 billion aid package that passed the Senate this month but has stalled in the House. That package, which focused on Ukraine and Israel, included $1.9 billion to replenish U.S. weapons provided to Taiwan. An additional $3.3 billion would go to build more U.S.-made submarines in support of a security partnership with Australia and the United Kingdom.

In Taiwan, Rep. Mike Gallagher, the select committee's Republican chair, and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, its Democratic ranking member, suggested ways to speed up the delivery of military weapons to Taiwan, including joint production of some weapons that do not need intellectual property transfer, according to a report by Central News Agency, the island’s main wire service.

The delegation met with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and also President-elect Lai Ching-te. Lai, who won a three-way race in January and will take office in May.

“Today, we've come as Democrats and Republicans to show our bipartisan support for this partnership, which, thanks to your leadership, I think is stronger and more rock solid than ever,” Gallagher said during the meeting with Tsai.

Bipartisan delegation of US lawmakers touch down in Taiwan for surprise visit

A bipartisan delegation of U.S. lawmakers touched down in Taiwan for an unannounced visit on Thursday.

The group is the latest batch of officials to flout China's demands that the U.S. cut ties with the self-governed island. Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., a major critic of China, led the delegation, which included four other members of Congress.

"The United States, Democrats and Republicans, stands with Taiwan, for your freedom and for ours," Gallagher said at a press conference during the visit. "For as Taiwan goes, so goes the world."

The group met with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-Wen, who told them she hoped to see further interaction between U.S. and Taiwan officials.

"The Taiwan of today plays a crucial role in upholding global peace and democracy," she said. "We will continue to advance our international partnerships and engage with the world."

The other members of the delegation are Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill.; John Moolenaar, R-Mich.; Dusty Johnson, R-S.D.; and Seth Moulton, D-Mass.

All those on the trip are members of the House Committee on Competition with China, which Gallagher chairs. The lawmakers' offices did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Fox News Digital.

China has long claimed ownership over Taiwan, and Chinese President Xi Jinping's regime has threatened to unite the island with the mainland by force.

Previous visits by U.S. lawmakers to Taiwan were seen as validation of the island's independence. China was outraged in August 2022 when then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi traveled to Taiwan. Tsai followed up the visit with a trip to the U.S. last year.

The Chinese military responded to both incidents with weeks of live-fire drills surrounding Taiwan in an apparent simulation of an invasion.

Gallagher's group also met with Taiwanese Vice President Lai Ching-te. It was the first meeting between him and U.S. lawmakers since he won the island's presidential election in January.

Lai will succeed Tsai in May.