A bipartisan U.S. Senate delegation was received by three top Chinese officials in Beijing on May 7, with both parties addressing the need to develop stable and respectful relations between China and the United States. The Senate delegation included Republicans Steve Daines of Montana, Jerry Moran of Kansas, and Deb Fischer of Nebraska, and Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington; they were received by the Premier of China Li Qiang, Chairman of the National People’s Congress Zhao Leji, and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
Senator Daines opened the meeting with Foreign Minister Wang by stating, “I strongly believe that we want to de-escalate, not decouple. We want stability, we want mutual respect,” Reuters reported. Daines’ readout on the meetings reports that the U.S. delegation had “discussed the importance of direct and open communication between the leadership of the two countries,” and “expressed their hope for an impactful and successful summit between President Trump and President Xi next week.” They raised issues ranging from stopping the flow of fentanyl precursors, to Iran and the Strait of Hormuz, supply chain security, reciprocal trade, and they lobbied for China to open its markets “to sustained agriculture trade” with the U.S. and again buy aircraft from Boeing.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry readout on the meeting with Wang Yi was more elaborate—and richly metaphorical. Wang noted “the important symbolic significance” of this first bipartisan U.S. senatorial delegation since President Donald Trump took office, and expressed his hope that the delegation “will gain a firsthand understanding of the new momentum of China’s development, build new bridges for communication, explore new areas of cooperation, and inject fresh impetus into the stable, sound, and sustainable development of China-U.S. relations.” Presidents Xi and Trump “have had multiple phone calls and meetings” over the past year and more, he said; China is willing to work with the United States to jointly implement the common understandings they had reached.
