In a rare diplomatic overture, a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers landed in Beijing this week, marking the first House of Representatives delegation to visit China since 2019. Their mission? To reopen crucial lines of communication between Washington and Beijing, at a time when tensions are running high over trade, technology, and military maneuvering across the globe.
"We’re still sort of talking past each other," admitted Rep. Adam Smith, the senior Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee and leader of the delegation, during a press conference at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing on September 23, 2025, according to the Associated Press. Smith’s frank assessment captured the mood of the visit: hopeful, but tinged with the recognition that dialogue remains fragile and incomplete.
The four-person delegation—comprising Smith, Democrats Ro Khanna and Chrissy Houlahan, and Republican Michael Baumgartner—arrived in Beijing on September 21. Over the following days, they held “robust and very helpful” meetings with some of China’s most powerful officials, including Premier Li Qiang, Vice Premier He Lifeng, and Defense Minister Dong Jun, as reported by NBC News and Bloomberg.
The stakes couldn’t be higher. As Smith told reporters, "Our relationship is going to be the most consequential relationship in terms of what the world is going to be like for decades to come." The lawmakers’ visit comes amid a swirl of disputes, from wars in the Middle East and Ukraine to the fierce competition for technological dominance and the ever-present trade imbalances between the world’s two largest economies.
Military tensions, in particular, loomed large over the talks. Smith and his colleagues voiced deep concern over how close U.S. and Chinese ships and planes have come to dangerous encounters, recalling an incident in October 2023 when a Chinese fighter jet came within 10 feet of an American bomber over the South China Sea. "We need to have a better conversation about de-conflicting those things," Smith said, as quoted by CNN. He warned that advances in artificial intelligence, drone warfare, and cyber capabilities are accelerating so rapidly that "the risk of a misunderstanding of capabilities on one side or the other is great."
Smith didn’t mince words about the danger of silence. "It is dangerous for us not to be having regular communications about our capabilities and intentions," he stated, highlighting the fact that China is "the most rapidly growing military and the most rapidly growing nuclear power in the world," while the U.S. still possesses the largest military and nuclear arsenal.
For over a year, military-to-military communications between the two countries had been frozen, a diplomatic casualty of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s August 2022 visit to Taiwan—a move that infuriated Beijing, which claims the self-governing island as its own. The ice only began to thaw in November 2023, after a rare meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and then-U.S. President Joe Biden, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Now, as the world watches, both sides are tiptoeing toward a more stable footing. Dong Jun, China’s defense minister, welcomed the American lawmakers, saying their visit “shows a good phase in strengthening China-U.S. communications, and I believe it is the right thing to do,” as reported by Xinhua News Agency.
But the agenda in Beijing wasn’t limited to security. Trade, fentanyl, critical minerals, and the future of TikTok all took center stage. During their meeting with Vice Premier He Lifeng, the lawmakers pressed for "fair and reasonable access to China’s market for American businesses," as Bloomberg reported. Smith stressed, “We simply want a fair trading relationship and there are a variety of issues on both sides. We have to figure out how to balance those, so that we can have fair and reasonable access to each other’s markets.”
They also urged China to help stem the flow of fentanyl into the United States and to relax export controls on rare earth minerals—resources Beijing has leveraged as a near-monopoly to assert its influence. The future of TikTok, a Chinese-owned video app facing a potential U.S. ban unless its American assets are sold, was discussed as well. Smith candidly admitted, “My understanding is that I don’t think that has been 100-percent resolved.”
Tariffs, too, remain a sore spot. Earlier in 2025, Washington and Beijing dramatically escalated their trade war, with the U.S. imposing 30-percent duties on Chinese imports and China retaliating with 10-percent tariffs on American goods. A temporary deal later reduced those levies, but the agreement is set to expire in November, raising the specter of renewed disruptions to global supply chains.
At the heart of the visit was the hope that increased dialogue could prevent the world’s two most powerful nations from stumbling into conflict. Smith drew a historical parallel, noting, “At the height of the Cold War, we had regular conversations, regular treaties with the Soviet Union.” The implication was clear: open channels can defuse even the most fraught rivalries.
Looking ahead, the diplomatic calendar is busy. On September 19, 2025, Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping spoke by phone—only their second conversation since Trump’s return to the White House. Both leaders agreed to meet face-to-face at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea, scheduled for October 31 to November 1, 2025. Trump also announced plans to visit China in early 2026, a move that could further thaw relations.
David Perdue, the new U.S. ambassador to China, sounded an optimistic note, telling NBC News that the recent call between Trump and Xi was “great” and that the leaders were “looking forward to getting together.”
Yet beneath the diplomatic smiles, the challenges remain daunting. The U.S. delegation’s visit underscored just how much work is left to do. As Smith put it, “Many things that seemed intractable and impossible—once you actually start talking from the standpoint of ‘Let’s try and resolve this’—it is unbelievable what you can accomplish.”
For now, the lawmakers are set to remain in China until September 25, 2025, continuing their efforts to bridge the divide. Whether these talks will yield lasting progress is anyone’s guess. But as the world watches Beijing and Washington inch closer to understanding, one thing is clear: in a world of rising stakes and rapid change, communication is not just helpful—it’s essential.
