US lawmaker says US and China are "talking past each other" during Beijing visit

BEIJING — The United States and China are "talking past each other" on key issues, a U.S. lawmaker leading a bipartisan congressional delegation said during a visit to Beijing on Tuesday. It is the first time the House has sent a delegation to China since 2019. Led by Rep. Adam Smith, a Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, the trip aims to increase dialogue between the two sides. Smith told reporters that both sides must begin the process of saying, 'Okay, this is where I’m coming from, where are you coming from?' and that, as of now, they are not even at that point yet, instead "we’re still sort of talking past each other."

The delegation’s readouts described urgent concerns: a push for China to take meaningful action to reduce the inflow of fentanyl into the United States and worries about Beijing’s restrictions on the global supply of rare earths. Smith noted the two militaries have approached each other too closely in air and sea, and he urged Beijing to engage more in direct conversations, comparing it to the credence of Cold War-era treaties with the Soviet Union. He said, "At the height of the Cold War, we had regular conversations, regular treaties with the Soviet Union." The group is also hoping to broaden the basis for dialogue beyond security.

Beijing meetings included Premier Li Qiang, Defense Minister Dong Jun, Vice Premier He Lifeng and National People’s Congress Chairman Zhao Leji, with a subsequent meeting in which Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Smith that China’s door was "always open" to him and that the tone was warmer. Smith said there was room for cooperation on issues such as poverty alleviation and public health crises, arguing that the United States and China possess the greatest capabilities in the world and that working together could yield significant results.

Since arriving on Sunday, the delegation has pursued candid exchanges as tensions over trade, technology and Taiwan persist. The two militaries suspended communications for more than a year starting in August 2022 after then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, which Beijing viewed as a challenge to its sovereignty. U.S. and Chinese officials restarted some military dialogue in November 2023 after a meeting between Xi Jinping and Joe Biden, but it remains unclear how regularly the two sides have communicated, and Smith did not provide a frequency estimate when pressed.

In addition to Smith, the delegation includes Michael Baumgartner, a Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, as well as Ro Khanna and Chrissy Houlahan, both Democrats on the House Armed Services Committee. The lawmakers are in China through Thursday. The trip unfolds amid broader signals from Washington about managing a competitive relationship with Beijing, including public comments from President Donald Trump that he would meet Xi at a regional summit in South Korea and would visit China in the "early part of next year" following a lengthy phone call.

The visit underscores Washington’s desire to keep channels open even as disputes over fentanyl, access to critical minerals and strategic military activity in the Asia-Pacific intensify. Smith stressed that progress may be incremental, but he urged Beijing to engage in more frequent dialogue with the United States as a path toward stabilizing difficult issues and reducing the risk of miscalculation.