A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers visited China on Sunday, marking the first delegation from the House of Representatives to travel to Beijing since 2019. The visit aims to strengthen engagement and stabilize relations between the world’s two largest economies.
The delegation is scheduled to meet Chinese Premier Li Qiang at the Great Hall of the People, according to a media pool organized by the U.S. embassy in China.
This trip follows a recent phone call between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, as both nations seek to ease tensions caused by trade disputes, U.S. semiconductor restrictions, the TikTok ownership issue, Chinese activity in the South China Sea, and concerns over Taiwan, which Beijing claims as part of its territory.
The delegation is led by Democratic Representative Adam Smith, former chair and current top Democrat of the House Armed Services Committee, which oversees the U.S. Department of Defense.
Smith emphasized the importance of dialogue in remarks to NBC News:
“Merely talking with China is not endorsing everything that they do. It’s like China is a big, powerful country. We are a big, powerful country. We need to talk about that.”
In parallel, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth held his first conversation with Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun, highlighting that the United States does not seek conflict with China but will continue to safeguard its vital interests in the Asia-Pacific region.
