There are "a thousand reasons" to improve relations between China and the United States, Chinese leader Xi Jinping told visiting lawmakers from the U.S. Senate on Monday.
"The China-U.S. relationship is the most important bilateral relationship in the world. How China and the United States get along will determine the future and destiny of mankind," China's president told Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Mike Crapo (R-ID), the leaders of the six-person congressional delegation.
Xi said there was "not one reason" to ruin bilateral ties. "Face-to-face communication is irreplaceable," he said, adding that he "hopes to take this opportunity to listen to the opinions of the senators."
Schumer used the meeting to express his disappointment over Beijing's response to the latest developments in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Hamas, the Palestinian militant group, launched a major surprise attack on Israeli territory on Saturday.
"I urge you and the Chinese people to stand with the Israeli people and condemn these cowardly and vicious attacks," Schumer told Xi.
The Chinese government on Sunday had called on "all parties concerned to remain calm and restrained."
The Senate majority leader's three-day trip to China, which began on Saturday in Shanghai, was the first since 2019 as the COVID-19 pandemic and deteriorating U.S.-China relations stalled congressional visits for years.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi attended the Xi-Schumer meeting, according to China's state broadcaster CCTV. Earlier in the day, at a separate meeting, Schumer had told Wang that Beijing's response to the Hamas attacks fell short.
"I was very disappointed, to be honest, by the Foreign Ministry statement that showed no sympathy or support for Israel during these troubled times," said Schumer.
Later, Schumer told Xi that the United States does not wish to end its mutually beneficial economic ties with China.
"China's development and prosperity are beneficial to the American people. The United States does not seek conflict with China and does not want to decouple from China," said Schumer, according to CCTV.
China has called for more congressional visits to increase dialogue with Washington in a quest to further stabilize relations, which were in free fall after former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-CA) visit to Taipei in August 2022.
A string of visits to China by senior Biden administration officials has cooled tensions in recent months, after an apparently errant Chinese spy balloon threatened to undermine high-level talks in February.
The latest meeting between Schumer and Xi increases the likelihood of the Chinese leader's attendance at the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco. Xi's potential visit to the United States will provide an opportunity for face-to-face dialogue with President Joe Biden before U.S. election season next year.
Xi last met Biden late last year on the margins of the G20 summit in Indonesia.
Schumer and Crapo's delegation were scheduled to fly to South Korea and Japan next as part of their swing through Asia.
Update 10/9/23, 8:00 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional details.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Aadil Brar is a reporter for Newsweek based in Taipei, Taiwan. He covers international security, U.S.-China relations, and East Asian ... Read more
