U.S. House lawmakers make rare China visit to stabilize ties

A group of U.S. lawmakers on a rare visit to Beijing told China’s number two leader, Premier Li Qiang, that the world’s two largest economies need to step up engagement and “break the ice” as both superpowers made further inroads into stabilizing ties

A group of U.S. lawmakers on a rare visit to Beijing told China’s number two leader, Premier Li Qiang, that the world’s two largest economies need to step up engagement and “break the ice” as both superpowers made further inroads into stabilizing ties.

The visit on Sunday was the first House of Representatives delegation to visit China since 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic ended formal House visits in 2020, and relations rapidly deteriorated due to disagreement over the origins of the coronavirus that had spread all over the world.

The trip by the bipartisan delegation, announced this month, follows a call on Friday between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping as both countries seek a course out of a period of strained ties exacerbated by trade tensions, U.S. restrictions over semiconductor chips, the ownership of TikTok, Chinese activities in the South China Sea, and matters related to Taiwan, which Beijing claims as part of its territory.

This “ice-breaking” trip will further bilateral ties, Premier Li told the lawmakers, according to a pool report organized by the U.S. embassy in China.

The delegation is led by Democratic Rep. Adam Smith of Washington. He is a former chair of and current top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, which oversees the Defense Department and armed forces.