Beijing welcomes visit of lawmakers for dialogue

Beijing said yesterday it welcomes an upcoming visit to China by US Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer and other senior lawmakers, saying it hoped the trip would enhance their "understanding" of the country.

Next week's delegation will be the latest in a series of visits by US officials to China, as both sides seek to defuse tensions across a range of security and economic issues.

"We hope that this visit will enhance the US Congress' objective understanding of China," Beijing's foreign ministry said in a statement.

The ministry hopes the trip will "promote dialogue and exchanges between the legislative bodies of the two countries and inject positive elements into the development of China-US relations."

Schumer is set to be accompanied on the trip by Republican colleague Senator Mike Crapo, Bloomberg reported.

The six-person delegation is hoping to secure a meeting with President Xi Jinping, US media reported, and will seek to raise issues ranging from US businesses in China to human rights.

Other US visitors this year include US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and climate envoy John Kerry.

Schumer and fellow lawmakers in May announced a major cross-party effort to combat China's growing global influence by limiting the flow of investment and state-of-the-art technology to the Asian giant.

In the Senate, Schumer framed the fight to rein in the Chinese Communist Party as an epochal struggle.

"The Chinese government is not constraining itself in its pursuit to dominate the 21st century and if we in America were to rest on our laurels, if we let the CCP beat us, it would have serious consequences for the world's democratic nations," he said.