US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has confirmed he will be leading a bipartisan Senate delegation on a visit to China, Japan and South Korea next week.
On Wednesday, Schumer said the delegation will be comprised of three Democrats and three Republicans.
Schumer said their trip will focus on economic competition and security, US national security, and global leadership in advanced technology.
He said the Chinese government must work with the US to ensure a level playing field so that US businesses and US workers have the opportunity to compete fairly in decades to come.
Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff, who will be making the trip with Schumer, told NHK on Wednesday that dialogue is essential in the practice of international relations.
He said one of the reasons that dialogue is so important is to reduce the risk of inadvertent escalation or conflict.
He said that the delegation will use the opportunities in China to “firmly and with strength” represent the US and its allies’ national security and economic interests.
What had already been a tense bilateral relationship deteriorated further after then US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August last year.
But in recent months, President Joe Biden has been sending key members of his administration to China.
