US lawmakers meet China's vice premier during rare trip

The U.S. delegation led by Rep. Adam Smith, a Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee met with Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun and separately, with Vice Premier He Lifeng, after holding talks with Premier Li Qiang on Sunday.

The visit is the first from the House of Representatives to China since 2019, and comes as tensions have risen between the two countries over trade, technology and opposing views on global conflicts.

Smith told Dong ahead of the meeting that the US want to open up better the lines of communication between two countries in general, in particular between defense (structures). Dong said the lawmakers’ visit “showed a good phase in strengthening China-U.S. communications which was the right thing to do.