US House Group Meets Premier Li as They Kick Off China Visit

(Bloomberg) — A group of senior US House representatives arrived in China on Sunday for talks with President Xi Jinping’s government — the first such official visit in six years — as the world’s largest economies edge closer to a trade deal.

The US group, led by Democrat and former House Armed Services Committee chairman Adam Smith, kicked off the visit by meeting with Premier Li Qiang at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

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“I would say your trip this time is an ice-breaking trip that will further the ties between the two countries,” Premier Li said. “China would like to have mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation with the US.”

Smith welcomed Li’s remarks and said the two countries need to find a way to peacefully coexist in the world.

“I think we can both acknowledge that both China and the US have work to do to strengthen that relationship,” he said. “We certainly have disagreements and will have disagreements. But open dialogue is absolutely crucial to resolving those and making sure that we find a way to peacefully deal with those.”

Earlier, the representatives were welcomed by US Ambassador David Perdue, who joined them in the meeting with Li.

Smith said that most of the representatives present were on the House Armed Services Committee, and as a member he is “deeply concerned that our two militaries don’t communicate more.”

“Yet they’re powerful and influential in many parts of the world,” Smith said. “We need to be talking more about how we’re going to do that side-by-side in a way that doesn’t create conflict.”

Sunday’s meeting follows a call on Friday between the two countries’ leaders. President Donald Trump said after the conversation that Xi had given his blessing to a sale of TikTok’s US operations to American investors, although he acknowledged that final steps still need to be worked out.

China’s Foreign Ministry was less explicit about what was discussed, instead urging fair treatment of Chinese interests, saying Washington needs to provide an open, fair and non-discriminatory environment for investors from the Asian nation.

Other representatives in the visiting US group include Washington Republican Michael Baumgartner of the House Foreign Affairs Committee; California Democrat Ro Khanna of the House Armed Services Committee; and Chrissy Houlahan, a Pennsylvania Democrat who is on the House Armed Services Committee.