BEIJING (Reuters) -China urged the United States on Friday to exercise the "utmost caution" on relations with democratically governed Taiwan, ahead of a sensitive trip its President Lai Ching-te starts this week to both Hawaii and Guam,

China has previously responded aggressively to U.S. transit stops by Taiwanese leaders. In April 2023, Beijing conducted three days of military exercises around Taiwan after Lai's predecessor, former President Tsai Ing-wen of the DPP, met then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy during a U.S. stopover en route to Central America.

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te will visit Hawaii and the US territory of Guam during an upcoming trip to the Pacific, prompting condemnations from China, which could respond by staging a fresh round of military drills near the island democracy.