*

Taiwan President Lai in U.S. territory of Guam

*

Lai greeted by Guam Governor Lou Leon Guerrero

*

U.S. partnership source of strength for high-tech industry

- Lai

(Recasts with Lai stopping over in Guam before heading to

Palau)

Dec 4 (Reuters) - Taiwan President Lai Ching-te was in

the U.S. territory of Guam on Wednesday, his second U.S.

stopover in less than a week during a tour to reinforce ties

with Pacific allies in the face of increasing Chinese pressure.

Lai arrived from

Tuvalu

and will stay in Guam one night before heading to Palau and

returning to Taipei on Friday.

Lai was

welcomed in Guam by Ingrid Larson

, Washington office managing director of the American

Institute in Taiwan, the body that serves as the unofficial U.S.

embassy in Taiwan.

Lai was also greeted by Guam Governor Lou Leon Guerrero,

who called it an "an honor" to see him on what is his first

overseas trip since taking office in May.

Lai stopped in Hawaii at the weekend, before heading on

to the Marshall Islands

and

Tuvalu

, like Palau among 12 countries that retain formal

diplomatic ties with Taipei and a part of the world where China

has been exerting stronger influence.

While it has only unofficial relations with Taiwan and

follows a "one-China" policy under which it recognizes Beijing

diplomatically, the U.S. government is obliged by law to supply

the island with the means to defend itself.

It has also often facilitated what are described as

unofficial stopovers when Taiwanese leaders visit far-flung

allies in the Pacific, Latin America or the Caribbean.

HIGH-TECH INDUSTRY

In a speech in Hawaii, Lai said Taiwan's U.S.

partnership was a source of strength for the high-tech industry,

including the semiconductor sector, and showed Taiwan was a

trusted and reliable partner

.

Taiwan is a major producer of chips used in everything

from cars to AI applications and is home to key Apple ( AAPL ) and Nvidia ( NVDA )

supplier TSMC.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump criticised Taiwan

during his election campaign, however, accusing it of stealing

business from U.S. semiconductor companies. His threat of broad

import tariffs could affect an industry crucial to Taiwan's

economy.

China, which considers Taiwan its own territory and Lai

a dangerous separatist, opposes any foreign interactions or

visits by the island's leaders.

It stepped up military pressure against Taiwan,

including two rounds of war games this year and on Friday urged

Washington to exercise

"utmost caution"

in its relations with Taiwan.

Tuvalu Prime Minister Feleti Teo reaffirmed ties with

Taiwan after he was elected in February, and travelled to Taipei

to meet Lai for Taiwan's national day celebrations in October.

"Different countries, the same belief in democracy;

different time zones, the same air of freedom," Lai wrote on

Facebook after his welcome in Tuvalu.

With a population of 11,000 scattered across nine

low-lying atolls, and predictions that half of its main town

will be submerged by rising tides by 2050, Tuvalu is reliant on

donors including Taiwan to fortify its coast.

It will also be connected to international

telecommunications by a subsea cable for the first time in a

joint project backed by Taiwan, Australia, the United States and

Japan.