The speaker’s tenacity also amplifies fears in Beijing that Washington is actively working to thwart unification. Officially, the U.S. still upholds a “one-China policy,” but Beijing isn’t buying that. Foreign Minister Wang Yi accused Washington of following a “fake” one-China policy in a conversation with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in October. During the leaders’ discussion last week, Xi warned President Joe Biden on the Taiwan issue, telling him that “those who play with fire will perish by it,” according to the official summary from China’s foreign ministry.

The fact that Pelosi defied such warnings affirms Beijing’s growing conviction that China may never attain national greatness as long as the U.S. is entrenched in East Asia. That could prompt Beijing to intensify its efforts to undermine the U.S.-backed global order and consolidate Xi’s anti-American partnership with Vladimir Putin. Pelosi’s Taiwan trip could then have repercussions far beyond the Taiwan Strait and even East Asia.

But what may be most worrying, from Beijing’s perspective, is the response to Pelosi’s visit from Taiwan itself. Like Pelosi, President Tsai brushed aside Chinese threats over the visit. And rather than cowering before an enraged Communist Party, the people of Taiwan announced their defiance in lights on Taipei’s tallest skyscraper, with the message: “Speaker Pelosi … Welcome to TW.” Simply put, Taiwan rubbed Xi’s nose in it. Beijing will read that as an indication that Pelosi’s visit has emboldened the island to resist China and its dream of unification.