The United States announced the start of a new bilateral economic dialogue with Taiwan, adding that the initiative aims to strengthen ties with Taipei amid mounting pressure from Beijing, Reuters reported.

State Department’s top diplomat for East Asia David Stilwell said in an online forum that the US moves are not a policy shift, but part of a complex of “significant adjustments” within Washington’s longstanding “one-China” policy.

Washington was forced to do so given the “increasing threat posed by Beijing to peace and stability” in a vitally important region and Beijing’s attempts to isolate Taiwan diplomatically while subjecting it to military threats.

 “We will continue to help Taipei resist the Chinese Communist Party’s campaign to pressure, intimidate, and marginalize Taiwan,” Stilwell noted.