A rare bipartisan U.S. House delegation, led by Rep. Adam Smith, is visiting China — the first since 2019 — in an “ice-breaking” effort to restore military-to-military communication and ease tensions over trade, Taiwan, and strategic rivalry.
A bipartisan delegation of U.S. lawmakers, led by Rep. Adam Smith of the House Armed Services Committee, is in China seeking to restore and improve military-to-military communication between the two countries. They are meeting with top Chinese officials, including Defense Minister Dong Jun, Vice Premier He Lifeng, and Premier Li Qiang.
This marks the first visit by members of the U.S. House of Representatives to China since 2019, in a period of heightened tensions over trade, technology, Taiwan and other strategic issues. Smith emphasized the importance of maintaining open lines of communication. “We want to open up better the lines of communication between our two countries in general, in particular between our defense (structures),” he said.
Chinese officials welcomed the visit. Dong said it “shows a good phase in strengthening China-U.S. communications,” which “is the right thing to do.” Meanwhile Premier Li Qiang described the trip as an “icebreaking trip that will further the ties between the two countries.”
The U.S. and China had suspended military dialogues following Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s 2022 visit to Taiwan; those channels were only restored in November 2023 after a meeting between Presidents Biden and Xi Jinping. The delegation, which includes both Republicans and Democrats, is expected to stay in Beijing until Thursday.