A bipartisan group of US lawmakers on Sunday pushed for more military-to-military dialogue in a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang (李強), a rare US congressional visit since US-China relations soured.
The last trip by a group of senators was in 2023, and Sunday’s delegation was the first from the US House of Representatives to visit Beijing since 2019.
Li welcomed the delegates led by US Representative Adam Smith and called it an “ice-breaking trip that would further the ties between the two countries.”
Photo: EPA
“It is important for our two countries to have more exchanges and cooperation. This is not only good for our two countries, but also of great significance to the world,” Li said.
Smith, a Democrat on the US House Representatives’ Armed Services Committee, said both sides were in agreement on the overarching aim of the visit.
“Certainly, trade and economy is on the top of the list ... [but also] we’re very focused on our military-to-military conversations,” he said in opening remarks. “As a member of the Armed Services Committee, I’m deeply concerned that our two militaries don’t communicate more.”
The delegation also included US Representative Michael Baumgartner, a Republican member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, as well as US representatives Ro Khanna and Chrissy Houlahan, Democrats on the Armed Services Committee. The lawmakers are in China until Thursday.
US-China relations have taken a downturn since US President Donald Trump’s first term and have been hobbled by trade tensions, the status of Taiwan, Beijing’s support for Russia and China’s vast claims in the disputed South China Sea.
“China and the US are the two most powerful and influential countries in the world. It’s really important that we get along, and we find a way to peacefully coexist in the world,” Smith said. “I really welcome your remarks about wanting to build and strengthen that relationship.”
Trump said he would meet Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) at a regional summit taking place at the end of next month in South Korea and would visit China in the “early part of next year,” following a lengthy phone call between the two on Friday last week.
FAKE NEWS? ‘When the government demands the press become a state mouthpiece under the threat of punishment, something has gone very wrong,’ a civic group said The top US broadcast regulator on Saturday threatened media outlets over negative coverage of the Middle East war, after US President Donald Trump slammed critical headlines from the “Fake News Media.” The US president since his first term has derided mainstream media as “fake news” and has sued major outlets over what he sees as unfair coverage. Brendan Carr, head of the US Federal Communications Commission — which oversees the nation’s radio, television and Internet media — said broadcasters risked losing their licenses over news coverage. “The law is clear. Broadcasters must operate in the public interest, and they will
INFLUTENTIAL THEORIST: Habermas was particularly critical of the ‘limited interest’ shown by German politicians in ‘shaping a politically effective Europe Jurgen Habermas, whose work on communication, rationality and sociology made him one of the world’s most influential philosophers and a key intellectual figure in his native Germany, has died. He was 96. Habermas’ publisher, Suhrkamp, said he died on Saturday in Starnberg, near Munich. Habermas frequently weighed in on political matters over several decades. His extensive writing crossed the boundaries of academic and philosophical disciplines, providing a vision of modern society and social interaction. His best-known works included the two-volume Theory of Communicative Action. Habermas, who was 15 at the time of Nazi Germany’s defeat, later recalled the dawn of
The Chinese public maintains relatively warm sentiments toward Taiwan and strongly prefers non-military paths to improving cross-strait relations, a recent survey conducted by the Atlanta, Georgia-based Carter Center and Emory University showed. The “China Pulse” research project, which polled 2,506 adults between Oct. 27 last year and Jan. 1 this year, found that 86 percent of respondents support strengthening cultural ties, while 81 percent favor deepening economic interaction. The report, co-authored by political scientists at Emory University and advisors at the Carter Center, indicates that the Chinese public views Taiwan’s importance through a lens of shared history and culture rather than geopolitical
Cannabis-based medicines have shown little evidence of effectiveness for treating most mental health and substance-use disorders, according to a large review of past studies published in a major medical journal on Monday. Medical use of cannabinoids has been expanding, including in the US, Canada and Australia, where many patients report using cannabis products to manage conditions such as anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and sleep problems. Researchers reviewed data from 54 randomized clinical trials conducted between 1980 and May last year involving 2,477 participants for their analysis published in The Lancet. The studies assessed cannabinoids as a primary treatment for mental disorders or substance-use
RSS