US-China Summit Approaching: Trump Ally Daines to Lead Delegation to China Next Week to Test the Waters
Ahead of the US-China summit scheduled for May 14-15, US Senator Steve Daines will lead a bipartisan delegation to China. The visit aims to assess China's infrastructure and innovation ecosystem, serving as a diplomatic maneuver to gauge leverage amidst ongoing tensions over trade, tech competition, and international relations.
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- 📰 Published: April 24, 2026 at 13:47
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(Central News Agency, Hong Kong, 24th, comprehensive foreign dispatch) The South China Morning Post cited sources today reporting that on the eve of the US-China summit on May 14 to 15, US President Trump's ally, federal Senator Steve Daines, will lead a bipartisan delegation to visit China next week. Washington is currently increasing pressure on Beijing over issues such as trade, technological competition, and China's relations with Iran.
A source requesting anonymity stated that the 5-member delegation led by US Republican Senator Steve Daines will depart on May 1, with an itinerary including Shanghai and Beijing.
This visit has been planned since last year and was originally scheduled for late March. At that time, President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping also planned to meet around the same time, but due to the war in Iran, the summit was postponed to mid-May.
The full list of the delegation led by Daines has not yet been announced, but sources indicate that some members will be visiting China for the first time.
Daines's office did not respond to requests for comment.
As a member of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Daines stated at a public event last month that the trip will focus on China's infrastructure and "innovation ecosystem," and they will take China's high-speed rail.
He said, "One of the goals of this trip is to understand the innovation ecosystem that China is building, and another is infrastructure. We will take the high-speed rail from Shanghai to Beijing."
This is Daines's second visit to China since Trump returned to the White House in January last year. In March 2025, when Trump imposed a new round of high tariffs on China and other trading partners, Daines met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Vice Premier He Lifeng in Beijing.
According to Xinhua News Agency, Daines told He Lifeng, who was leading the trade negotiations at the time, that US-China relations are "very important," that both sides should strengthen dialogue, and that he was willing to make more pragmatic contributions to this end.
Daines lived in China for six years while working for Procter & Gamble. Over the past decade, leveraging his unique background, Daines has become an important communication bridge between the Trump administration and Beijing.
During Trump's first presidential term, Daines participated in pushing China to reopen the US beef market, and frequently interacted with Chinese officials in the capacity of a White House advisor during the Phase One trade agreement negotiations in 2019 to 2020.
It is currently unclear whether this visit is related to the upcoming summit. As US-China relations have deteriorated, visits to China by congressional delegations have become relatively rare. Since Daines is not seeking re-election, he holds greater political leeway in his interactions with China.
Sourabh Gupta of the Washington-based think tank "Institute for China-America Studies" stated that this trip, coming weeks before Trump's visit to China and meeting with Xi Jinping, is a "positive signal," noting that Daines is seen as Trump's "China messenger."
It remains unclear whether Daines will meet with Xi Jinping on this trip. Denis Simon of the Washington think tank "Quincy Institute" believes that if the war in Iran has not ended, Trump may be in a "weaker" position when he visits China.
He said, "Visits like this may be to scout the agenda in advance and see if Trump's negotiating leverage has weakened. I think Trump needs allies to test the waters for him in Beijing first."
However, as the Trump-Xi meeting approaches, Washington has already stepped up pressure on Beijing on multiple issues.
This continues the development since the US-China leaders' meeting in October last year. At that time, Trump and Xi reached a trade truce, which included the US approving the export of certain advanced artificial intelligence (AI) chips. But since then, tensions have flared up again between the two sides over AI competition, cybersecurity, trade, and recently, the Iran issue. (Compiler: Xu Ruicheng) 1150424
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A source requesting anonymity stated that the 5-member delegation led by US Republican Senator Steve Daines will depart on May 1, with an itinerary including Shanghai and Beijing.
This visit has been planned since last year and was originally scheduled for late March. At that time, President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping also planned to meet around the same time, but due to the war in Iran, the summit was postponed to mid-May.
The full list of the delegation led by Daines has not yet been announced, but sources indicate that some members will be visiting China for the first time.
Daines's office did not respond to requests for comment.
As a member of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Daines stated at a public event last month that the trip will focus on China's infrastructure and "innovation ecosystem," and they will take China's high-speed rail.
He said, "One of the goals of this trip is to understand the innovation ecosystem that China is building, and another is infrastructure. We will take the high-speed rail from Shanghai to Beijing."
This is Daines's second visit to China since Trump returned to the White House in January last year. In March 2025, when Trump imposed a new round of high tariffs on China and other trading partners, Daines met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Vice Premier He Lifeng in Beijing.
According to Xinhua News Agency, Daines told He Lifeng, who was leading the trade negotiations at the time, that US-China relations are "very important," that both sides should strengthen dialogue, and that he was willing to make more pragmatic contributions to this end.
Daines lived in China for six years while working for Procter & Gamble. Over the past decade, leveraging his unique background, Daines has become an important communication bridge between the Trump administration and Beijing.
During Trump's first presidential term, Daines participated in pushing China to reopen the US beef market, and frequently interacted with Chinese officials in the capacity of a White House advisor during the Phase One trade agreement negotiations in 2019 to 2020.
It is currently unclear whether this visit is related to the upcoming summit. As US-China relations have deteriorated, visits to China by congressional delegations have become relatively rare. Since Daines is not seeking re-election, he holds greater political leeway in his interactions with China.
Sourabh Gupta of the Washington-based think tank "Institute for China-America Studies" stated that this trip, coming weeks before Trump's visit to China and meeting with Xi Jinping, is a "positive signal," noting that Daines is seen as Trump's "China messenger."
It remains unclear whether Daines will meet with Xi Jinping on this trip. Denis Simon of the Washington think tank "Quincy Institute" believes that if the war in Iran has not ended, Trump may be in a "weaker" position when he visits China.
He said, "Visits like this may be to scout the agenda in advance and see if Trump's negotiating leverage has weakened. I think Trump needs allies to test the waters for him in Beijing first."
However, as the Trump-Xi meeting approaches, Washington has already stepped up pressure on Beijing on multiple issues.
This continues the development since the US-China leaders' meeting in October last year. At that time, Trump and Xi reached a trade truce, which included the US approving the export of certain advanced artificial intelligence (AI) chips. But since then, tensions have flared up again between the two sides over AI competition, cybersecurity, trade, and recently, the Iran issue. (Compiler: Xu Ruicheng) 1150424
Choose to stand with facts, every sponsorship from you is the power to guard press freedom
Download the Central News Agency "First-hand News" APP to grasp the latest news instantly
The text, images, and audio/video on this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, or publicly transmitted and utilized without authorization.