SHANGHAI – A delegation of U.S. lawmakers led by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer arrived in China on Saturday in the first congressional visit to the rustic since 2019.
The travel comes amid a pointy deterioration in family members between the 2 international locations and as Chinese and American officers attempt to lay the groundwork for a possible meeting between Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping in November.
The delegation of six senators, which contains 3 Democrats and 3 Republicans, landed in Shanghai in the mid-afternoon. The Republicans have been led by Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo, the senior member of his celebration on the Senate Finance Committee. Schumer is a New York Democrat.
A sequence of high-ranking Biden management officers have met their Chinese opposite numbers in Beijing in contemporary months, however no different U.S lawmakers have made the travel since China lifted its COVID-19 restrictions in December of remaining yr.
China mentioned in a commentary previous this week that it was hoping the visit would “contribute to a more objective understanding of China in the U.S. Congress.”
Schumer’s administrative center mentioned he would focal point on the desire for reciprocity from China for U.S. industry in business and on keeping up American management in complex applied sciences for nationwide safety. He additionally hopes to speak about human rights, fentanyl production, and China’s position in the global group, in addition to spaces for possible cooperation.
A clean visit may just assist pave the best way for a Biden-Xi summit throughout the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders assembly in San Francisco subsequent month. The senators hope to satisfy Xi in Beijing throughout their visit.
A Chinese global family members knowledgeable mentioned that Schumer’s visit is an indication of development in China-U.S. family members.
“If the talks proceed well, there is the possibility that President Xi will meet Schumer,” mentioned Wang Yiwei, the director of the Institute of International Affairs at Renmin University of China. “If their meeting is realized, the chances for a Xi-Biden meeting will become greater.”
The White House has been in contact with Schumer and helps the delegation’s visit to the area, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre mentioned after the travel was once introduced. The senators will pass to South Korea and Japan after their prevent in China.