US House lawmakers make rare China visit to stabilise ties

A group of U.S. lawmakers visited China for talks on Sunday, the first House of Representatives delegation to visit since 2019, as the world's two biggest economies step up engagement in an effort to stabilise bilateral ties.

The bipartisan delegation will meet with Chinese Premier Li Qiang at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, according to a media pool report organised by the U.S. embassy in China.

The trip, 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.


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

Smith told NBC News on September 9 that opening up bilateral dialogue was important.

"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. I think we need to talk about that," he said.

Shortly after the visit was announced, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth held his first conversation with his Chinese counterpart Dong Jun, stressing that the United States did not seek conflict with China but would protect its vital interests in the Asia-Pacific region.