"Apart from military actions, China could also sanction US officials who visit the island," Song noted.

    The predictions are based on the hypothetical prerequisite - whether the Pelosi trip to Taiwan takes place. Hopefully, the US could stay reasonable and a crisis could be avoided. But if it takes place, the US will have to face another Taiwan Straits crisis that it cannot handle, said experts. 

    Lü Xiang, a research fellow on US studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, told the Global Times on Thursday that sending military aircraft across the island is highly likely and the missions could take place in multiple areas over the island. 

    "The PLA could even establish a no-fly zone over the island to prove China's sovereignty over the island. The PLA Air Force and Navy are capable of conducting such missions, and if Taiwan military forces dare to interrupt, they will pay a heavy price as well," said a Beijing-based military expert who asked for anonymity. 

    "The US decision-makers need to understand that the more provocations they make, the more resolute China will be in preparing to solve the Taiwan question by non-peaceful means," as the US side and the Taiwan secessionists will make the Chinese mainland lose faith in peaceful resolution of the question. When the conditions get mature, the PLA will take actions to solve the problem once and for all, Song said. 

    Pelosi is reportedly concerned about a "change of the status quo by force," but her reported visit will definitely force China to take further actions aimed at reunifying the island by force, Lü noted.

    According to media reports, Pelosi's visit will commemorate the 43rd anniversary of the Taiwan Relation Act, a US law that violates the principles for China and the US to establish diplomatic ties. And this act has maintained the unlawful arm sales from the US to the island and gives space for Taiwan secessionists to hold wishful thinking that expect the US to defend the island by force against the reunification of China, said experts. 

    "The PLA will take powerful measures, resolutely defeat all kinds of foreign force interference and Taiwan secessionist attempts and firmly safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity," Senior Colonel Tan Kefei, spokesperson of China's Ministry of National Defense, said in a statement on Thursday.

    However, if the US intends to make itself a safe haven for international capital flows by pushing China to retaliate and cause another crisis in Asia while the Russia-Ukraine crisis is troubling Europe, China won't be made use of so easily, said analysts. 

    The retaliation doesn't necessarily mean an all-out military operation to solve the Taiwan question, as China has confidence and patience to push reunification based on its own schedule, experts noted. 

    Compared to China's calmness, the US is being very cautious. "Unlike previous US officials' and lawmakers' Taiwan visits, which were announced in advance, Pelosi's rumored visit was only released by Japanese media, and no other Washington-related sources and US media have been leading the way," Diao said. "This is very strange." 

    "If the tour is to mark the 43th anniversary of the Taiwan Relation Act as what the media reported, it would be time to make a high-profile visit, rather than try to keep it a secret. If there is still no response from Pelosi in the next 24 hours, the US attitude would be in question," Diao noted.

    Chinese experts said despite the Taiwan question and the Ukraine crisis being entirely different in nature, similarities lie in the Biden administration's manipulation on the two events. 

    The US keeps Europe close to Washington by stirring up the Ukraine crisis and playing up "Russian threats," said Diao. "It also fans the flames on the Taiwan question and plays up the 'China threat' to advance its Indo-Pacific Strategy."

    Lü said US politicians in Washington want to show that they are not begging China for cooperation when they are facing trouble with Russia, and by making more provocations on the Taiwan question, they want to stress that the US is not giving up on the Indo-Pacific Strategy and will stay tough against China.

    But such a strategy that could make the US confront China and Russia at the same time could eventually overdraft the national strength of the US and makes Washington pay a heavy price, said analysts.   

    The US should learn from the Ukraine crisis "what would happen when pushing a great power into a corner," Xin said.