Head of U.S. Delegation: China Wants More Productive Conversation, Following Meeting in Beijing

By Yuko Mukai and Riley Martinez / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writers

19:30 JST, October 8, 2025

WASHINGTON — China has requested “more productive conversation” with the United States, the head of a bipartisan delegation from the U.S. House of Representatives that visited China late last month told The Yomiuri Shimbun on Friday.

Rep. Adam Smith, a Democrat, held talks with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, among others, in Beijing.

The visit could be seen as a sign that Beijing is trying to enhance contact with Washington in an effort to improve their multifaceted relationship.

Smith is the highest-ranking Democrat member of the House Armed Services Committee. He takes the stance of advocating peaceful coexistence with China even amid Congress leaning toward a bipartisan hardline stance.

It was the first time since 2019 for a delegation from the House to visit China. In addition to Li, the delegation also held talks with Defense Minister Dong Jun and Vice Premier He Lifeng, China’s top negotiator in U.S.-China tariff talks.

Smith said China was “less aggressive” at the September meeting.

“I saw a willingness on behalf of all of the Chinese leadership that we met with, and certainly the Chinese ambassador to the U.S., to say, ‘Hey, can we have a more productive conversation?’ I think that was the biggest message that they were trying to get across,” Smith said.

When Smith dined with Chinese Ambassador to the U.S. Xie Feng this spring, he was urged to visit China. This proposal from the Chinese side led to the delegation’s visit to China.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are scheduled to hold face-to-face talks in South Korea late this month, coinciding with the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. Smith said the main focus of the talks would be economics, but “I’m trying to help broaden that conversation to engage in the military-to-military concerns.”

During the series of talks, the U.S. side requested enhanced military dialogue, including the resumption of U.S.-China nuclear dialogue.

Taiwan was also on the agenda during the September visit. China called U.S. arms sales to Taiwan “provocative,” expressing its wariness toward the administration of Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party.

Smith said that he told Chinese officials that circling around Taiwan “with massive armadas, and what sure looks like a preparation for an invasion, [is] also escalatory.”