According to the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), which functions as the de facto US embassy in the absence of formal ties, the proposed collaboration will focus on suborbital flights – an emerging form of space transport in which a vehicle briefly exits the Earth’s atmosphere before re-entering and gliding to a runway landing.

“Possible spaceport cooperation is awaiting further evaluation and discussion,” the AIT said in a social media post on Monday.

“If suborbital flights were used, travel time between Taipei and Houston could be shortened to as little as 2½ hours. Houston’s Ellington Airport already has a legal spaceport licence.”

Suborbital flights are still in the experimental phase but could revolutionise long-distance travel in the coming decades. A direct commercial flight between Taipei and Houston now takes about 14½ hours.

Initially developed for research and military purposes, suborbital flights are now being explored for tourism and ultra-fast cargo delivery. Apart from the US, mainland China and Russia are also looking at developing commercial services.