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Han Li

A congressional advisory panel focused on China has returned from a trip to Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou with commissioners pledging to make the visits an annual event to strengthen engagement and inform their work on US-China relations.
The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC), an independent advisory body established in 2000, provides annual reports and recommendations to lawmakers on trade and national security-related policies.
“We are committed to seeking to return at least annually to further expand areas of engagement,” Vice Chair Mike Kuiken said in a statement. “[So] our analysis keeps pace with a relationship that does not stand still.”
According to a USCC press release, the delegation met with US diplomats, Chinese government officials, Chinese think tanks, and representatives of both US and Chinese businesses.
“The delegation held frank discussions with its interlocutors on a range of subjects,” the commission said.
Topics included artificial intelligence, advanced technology, biotechnology, local economic and business conditions, economic security, regional security and global issues.


The commission did not identify which Chinese government officials the delegation met with or explain why it selected Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou as stops on the trip.
It did say, however, that it was unable to meet with some technology companies it had requested to visit.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington welcomed the visit, saying it hoped it would contribute to a more balanced understanding of China.
“The Chinese side is always open to communication with Congress,” an embassy spokesperson said.
“We hope this visit by USCC will help the US side take an objective decision and fair-minded perspective to China and China-US relations, playing a positive role in building a China-US constructive relationship of strategic stability.”
Beijing has often viewed the USCC as an unfriendly body because its annual reports frequently criticise Chinese government policies. USCC Chair Randy Schriver also acknowledged the often-rocky relationship.
“Where our hosts disagreed with our annual report and other analysis, we welcomed that debate,” Schriver said. “An honest airing of disagreement is more useful than a polite one.”
The trip marked the commission’s first visit to China since 2019 and signals a return to in-person fact-finding exchanges after years of limited travel during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Congressional travel to mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan was a regular bipartisan practice throughout the 2010s, before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Since 2010, visits to mainland China have declined sharply while travel to Taiwan has increased, including the high-profile and controversial visit by then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in 2022, according to a report by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.
Neil Thomas, a senior fellow on Chinese politics at the Asia Society, applauded the trip, saying first-hand exposure to China would help improve policymaking in Washington.
“[I strongly] agree on the importance of ‘seeing the relationship first-hand,’” Thomas wrote on social media.
“The USCC plays an important role in China policy in Washington, DC, and it makes a lot of sense for its commissioners and staff to have on-the-ground knowledge to help inform their work.”


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The fact-finding mission by members of a congressional advisory body to Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou was the first of its kind since 2019


The fact-finding mission by members of a congressional advisory body to Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou was the first of its kind since 2019.


US congressional group plans annual visits to China after trade trip

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The fact-finding mission by members of a congressional advisory body to Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou was the first of its kind since 2019

The fact-finding mission by members of a congressional advisory body to Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou was the first of its kind since 2019