Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, second from right, speaks with Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash, left, as he leads a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, Monday, Sept. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A., Pool)
Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash, left, shakes hands with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng as he leads a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers for a meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, Monday, Sept. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A., Pool)
US and China ‘talking past each other’ on key issues, says US lawmaker visiting Beijing
BEIJING (AP) 鈥 The United States and China are talking past each other on key issues, said a U.S. lawmaker leading a bipartisan congressional delegation to Beijing on Tuesday.
Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, second from right, speaks with Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash, left, as he leads a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, Monday, Sept. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A., Pool)
BEIJING (AP) 鈥 The United States and China are talking past each other on key issues, said a U.S. lawmaker leading a bipartisan congressional delegation to Beijing on Tuesday.
The visit, led by Rep. Adam Smith, a Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, is the first from the House of Representatives to China since 2019, and comes as tensions have risen between the two countries over trade, technology and opposing views on global conflicts.
The aim of the trip, Smith said, is to
鈥淵ou have to be willing to start the process of saying, 鈥極kay, this is where I鈥檓 coming from, where are you coming from?鈥 And we鈥檙e not even at that point yet. We鈥檙e still sort of talking past each other,鈥 Smith said Tuesday.
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The U.S. delegation said they hoped China would take meaningful action to reduce the inflow of fentanyl into the U.S. and they expressed concern over China’s restrictions on the global supply of rare earths, according to a readout from the House Armed Services Committee on Monday.
Smith also said Tuesday he is concerned that the U.S. and Chinese militaries are to each other operationally, and that he wants the Chinese side to engage in more dialogue.
鈥淲e鈥檝e seen this with our ships and our planes, their ships, their planes, coming entirely too close to one another,鈥 he told reporters. 鈥淎t the height of the Cold War, we had regular conversations, regular treaties with the Soviet Union.鈥
In October 2023, the U.S. military said that a of an American bomber over the South China Sea.
Smith added he hoped for more engagement overall with Beijing.
鈥淢any things that seemed intractable and impossible 鈥 once you actually start talking from the standpoint of 鈥楲et鈥檚 try and resolve this鈥 鈥 it is unbelievable what you can accomplish,鈥 he said.
The delegation met with Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun and separately with Vice Premier He Lifeng on Monday after holding talks with Premier Li Qiang on Sunday.
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The U.S. and Chinese militaries suspended communications with each other for over a year starting in August 2022, following a visit by then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan. The visit angered Beijing, which claims self-ruled Taiwan as its own territory, to be annexed by force if necessary.
A group of U.S. senators visited Beijing in 2023.
China and the U.S. restored military dialogue in November 2023 after a rare meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and then-U.S. President Joe Biden.
But it is unclear how regularly the two militaries have communicated with each other and Smith did not address the frequency in response to reporters鈥 questions on Tuesday.
President Donald Trump said he would meet with Xi at a regional summit in South Korea in late October and visit China in the 鈥渆arly part of next year,鈥 following a lengthy phone call between the two on Friday.
The congressional delegation to China also includes Michael Baumgartner, a Republican member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, as well as Ro Khanna and Chrissy Houlahan, both Democrats on the House Armed Services Committee. The lawmakers are in China until Thursday.
