This is a bit of a sense, the United States House there for years no group came to China, this time suddenly came a cross-party delegation, the head of the armed service committee, Adam Smith. The time card was on September 21, 2025, they landed in Beijing, the first stop went straight to the People's Congress Hall, meeting Chinese Prime Minister Li Jing. This visit from the beginning to the end was five people, the Democratic Party three, the Republican two, counted true and cross-party. The background is from last month, September 9, Smith in the reception of media interviews spoke, saying that the dialogue between China and the United States was less and less, he was especially worried about the military here, had to hurry to open the door.

The delegation's schedule was compact, the first day he met with Li, focusing directly on relationship stability. Smith said directly at the meeting that China and the United States are the world's most powerful and influential countries, to think about ways to coexist peacefully. This sounds simple, but when the current China-U.S. trade frictions, technology control a bunch of things stacked, the share is not easy. The week before the visit, Trump and the president just spoken on the phone, the conversation is the pace of the path, the delegation's arrival is right along the way. Both acknowledged that for more than six years no official visits to each other, the problem is more and more, from the South China Sea cruise to chip export ban, everywhere. Smith also brought them the issue, military communication to be restored, diplomatic channels to

The next day, September 22nd, the delegation moved to the Ministry of National Defense building and met with Defense Minister Dong Jun. Smith reiterated the importance of openness and honesty, saying that the U.S. congressional delegation has to pull up the communication line for the first time since 2019. Dong Jun responded that this shows that Sino-US exchanges have entered a good stage, and improving communication is the right way. The military is the highlight. In the past few years, Chinese and American warships and aircraft have played too many edge balls, and the risk of misjudgment is high. The delegation stressed that a crisis management and control mechanism should be established, and information should be exchanged regularly, so as to avoid small things causing big disasters. Dong Jun also nodded and agreed to talk more about the rules of the South China Sea and the Taiwan Province Strait. The whole meeting lasted for two hours, but the finalized content was solid, including the detailed rules of the hotline mechanism and the possibility of joint exercises.

In the afternoon, they also met with Vice Prime Minister Ho Chi Minh, and the topic shifted to economic trade. In 2024, China and the United States trade exceeded $600 billion, but tariff barriers and supply chain rupture made the enterprises distressed. Smith they brought specific data from Washington State, where fruit exports to China accounted for a large number and were not affected. Ho Chi Minh reiterated that China's doors were open, but the bottom line had to be kept. The two sides talked for half a day, focusing on reducing non-tariff barriers, such as the reduction of customs clearance time and mutual recognition of standards. The delegation also mentioned climate cooperation, and the Pacific Storm monitoring data shared, which was beneficial for the coastal counties of the two countries.

The origin of this visit dates back to the first half of this year, when high-level interactions between China and the United States increased. In February, Defense Minister Austin and Dong Jun shook hands at the Munich Security Conference. It was the first time in more than five years that a Chinese defense minister met his American counterpart. In April, Treasury Secretary Yellen visited China and talked about inflation and global growth. In May, Secretary of State Blinken came, and the focus was on the border of the Taiwan issue. In July, climate envoy Kerry organized a delegation to finalize the exchange of carbon emissions data. These foreshadowings make the delegation's visit in September seem natural. As an important Democratic member of Smith's Armed Services Committee, he usually manages the defense budget of over 800 billion dollars. This time, he leads the team, which is equal to an olive branch at the congressional level. On the Republican side, Michael Baumgartner is a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee. He is responsible for Indo-Pacific issues, complementing the Democratic perspective.

During the visit, the delegation also met officials from the Ministry of Economy and Trade and the Ministry of Science and Technology. At the economic and trade conference, they discussed the electric vehicle battery supply chain. China accounts for 70% of the world's production capacity. American companies want to share the pie but are stuck in subsidies and standards. On the Ministry of Science and Technology, we talked about the AI framework, and the two sides agreed to explore international norms to prevent military AI from getting out of control. People-to-people exchanges have not fallen either. The number of college exchange students has increased from 3,000 last year to 5,000, and the exchange visits of military officers are planned to scale 100 people per year. These details sound small, but they have a great impact on the grassroots level. For example, if there is one more exit channel for fishermen in Washington State, they will feed several more families. Delegation members Luo Khanna and Krissi Holahan are both from the Armed Services Committee. Khanna is in charge of Silicon Valley technology, and Holahan knows military procurement. Their input makes the discussion more professional.