"Chinese President Xi Jinping Unlikely to Meet Visiting US Congressional Delegation"

US Congressional Delegation Plans First China Visit in 4 Years
"Unclear What Xi Jinping Will Gain at This Time"

As a delegation of U.S. senators prepares to visit China, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported on the 3rd that the likelihood of Chinese President Xi Jinping meeting with them is low.

Earlier, Bloomberg News reported that a bipartisan group of senators, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of the Democratic Party, plans to visit China next week to discuss current issues such as the Micron case and is seeking a meeting with President Xi. If the visit takes place, it will mark the first time in four years that a U.S. congressional delegation has visited China.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

However, Einer Tangen, a senior researcher at the Taihe Think Tank, told SCMP, "This visit is not expected to lead to positive outcomes," and described Schumer as "a China hawk who pushes President Joe Biden’s agenda in China." He added, "He strongly advocates for tougher measures against China to curb its high-tech and military development." He further explained, "China will welcome the U.S. delegation to show openness, but unless the delegation engages in constructive dialogue, it will merely be 'publicity'."

Chong Ziyan, a U.S.-China relations expert at the National University of Singapore, said, "China is likely to raise concerns about U.S. technology restrictions, activities in the South China Sea and East China Sea, and Taiwan during this meeting," adding, "To gauge how seriously China takes this visit, it is important to pay attention to the senior officials representing China in these discussions."

He continued, "This visit is part of ongoing efforts to rebuild regular high-level communication between the two sides," but argued, "At this point, it is unclear what President Xi can gain from this meeting."

Earlier this year, starting in June, U.S. officials including Secretary of State Tony Blinken, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Climate Envoy John Kerry, and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo visited China. Regarding this, SCMP assessed, "Both sides agreed to maintain communication, but there has been little change in the structural issues between the two countries." It emphasized, "Despite progress such as the resumption of personnel exchanges and the establishment of economic and financial working groups, technological competition continues, and discussions between the military authorities of the two countries remain deadlocked."

Senator Mike Crapo, included in the delegation visiting China, told Bloomberg in an interview, "I hope to create opportunities to resolve conflicts through cooperation with China," and said, "We will raise issues regarding sanctions on Micron."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.