US senators defy backlash at home to test China’s engagement first-hand
- After 4-year pause, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer is leading lawmakers for ‘direct, candid and respectful’ conversations with Chinese leadership
- But there is still no sign that the group will meet President Xi Jinping
Nearly a decade ago, when Chinese President Xi Jinping made a state visit to the United States, he told the highest ranking US lawmakers that the two countries should leave a much better relationship to future generations.
As Xi was welcomed to Capitol Hill, he invited Nancy Pelosi to China to “come see for yourself” after the then-House Democratic leader expressed concerns over the country’s human rights records.
The senators met Shanghai Communist Party secretary, Chen Jining, after landing in the city on Saturday, according to a statement from the Shanghai municipal government.
“China-US relations are the most important bilateral relationship in the world today, and healthy and stable China-US relations are beneficial to both countries as well as to the world,” Chen said.
“We will, as always, create a first-class business environment that is market-oriented, rule of law-oriented and internationalised, and help enterprises to better invest and prosper, and achieve greater development through win-win cooperation,” he added.
Schumer raised the issue of fair competition for some American companies operating in China.
