Two hundred US lawmakers in a letter on Wednesday called for Taiwan’s participation in the planned Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), touting the nation’s economic importance and the signal of support it would send to counter Chinese intimidation.

The letter, drafted by the four cochairs of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus and addressed to US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and US Trade Representative Katherine Tai (戴琪), said that Taiwan should be “at the front of the line” to join the framework.