WASHINGTON — Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Washington is getting a much chillier reception on Capitol Hill than at the White House as lawmakers from both parties use the visit to denounce China's actions on the world stage.
Lawmakers have long found little downside to taking a hawkish tone on China, but the U.S.'s war with Iran has inflamed tensions as U.S. officials accuse China of propping up Iran's economy and supplying its military with components and intelligence, endangering U.S. service members in the Middle East.
In speeches, letters, press conferences and hearings, lawmakers from both parties aired criticism of Xi's visit. Their actions and events stand in stark contrast to the warm welcome that Trump gave Xi on Wednesday as he arrived in Washington for a lavish state visit.
Republicans air their dissenting views
Sen. Roger Wicker, the chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, took to the Senate floor Tuesday night, offering a list of issues for Trump to raise with Xi, but not before suggesting that Xi shouldn't have been asked to visit Washington at all.
“Quite frankly, had the White House asked me for advice, I would have suggested the president not invite Xi Jinping to Washington for such a lavish welcome here in the United States of America based on all of the troubling issues we have with President Xi and the Chinese Communist Party,” Wicker said.
Wicker seemed particularly taken aback by the honor of a state dinner. Over the salad course, Wicker said the president could ask Xi about the Chinese Navy's harassment of Filipino fishermen and sailors. Then, while the servers are "switching from chardonnay to cabernet at the fancy state dinner," perhaps the president could turn to the issue of Taiwan, he said.
He went on to say he hopes some progress will be made when the president discussed trade and artificial intelligence with Xi. But concluded with this: "During every minute of dialogue, our commander in chief should keep in mind that his guest is a brutal, unelected, and oppressive dictator who seeks to dominate his neighbors and whose massive military arsenal is aimed directly at the United States of America."
House committee weighs in with a critical video
Ahead of Xi's visit, the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party released a highly critical video that had been viewed more than 245,000 times on X. In the video, the committee details Xi's rise to power starting in 1974 and ends by labeling him "the biggest opponent of freedom and liberty in the world.”
The House created the panel in 2023. It's held several hearings on human rights issues in China and advocates for legislation on an array of economic and military issues. For example, the committee's chairman, Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., recently introduced a bill that would prohibit the manufacture or sale of Chinese cars in the U.S.
Republican senators press for Taiwan aid
Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and three other Republican senators used the Xi visit to press the Trump administration to move ahead with aid and arms sales to Taiwan.
In a letter, they reminded Secretary of State Marco Rubio that he had previously stated that "deterring an invasion of Taiwan must be our top priority." And they noted Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had once declared that the U.S. "will not let our allies and partners be subordinated and intimidated."
China has pressed Washington to halt the arms sales, most prominently during a summit in May between Trump and Xi in Beijing. After that meeting, the United States paused the sale of a record-breaking $14 billion package — and Trump described arms sales to Taiwan as a "very good negotiating chip" with China.
“It is difficult to imagine how the United States might credibly project influence deterrence in the Indo-Pacific,” the senators wrote, “if the price of keeping up diplomatic appearances is denying our partners key deterrent capabilities.”
Democrats pile on the criticism
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and three other Democratic senators held a press conference to warn against the U.S. weakening export controls for advanced semiconductor chips and equipment. They're concerned that such exports could erase the U.S.'s lead in artificial intelligence over China.
They touched on voter concerns about the safety of artificial intelligence and contrasted Democrats’ call for greater regulation with the president’s call to “encourage it, not rein it in.”
“We must reject the false choice Trump keeps making,” Schumer told reporters. “We can and must both maintain our lead on AI by restricting China’s access to our technology and put up guardrails to mitigate AI’s risk."
Meanwhile, on the Senate floor, Democratic senators urged Trump to confront Xi directly about the support his country is providing Iran.
“If we want to bring this war to an end, we need to cut off the outside support that allows Iran to keep fighting, and that starts with China,” said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the ranking Democratic lawmaker on the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee.
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