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Oct. 7 (UPI) -- A bipartisan group of U.S. senators led by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer arrived in China Saturday to hold diplomatic talks with Communist Party leaders in Shanghai before heading to Beijing for a potential sit-down with President Xi Jinping. Schumer was accompanied by five of his senate colleagues, including Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, Bill Cassidy, R-La., John Kennedy, R-La., Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., and Jon Ossoff, D-Ga.
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"We hope this visit will contribute to a more objective understanding of China in the U.S. Congress, increase dialogue and communication between the legislatures of our two countries, and add positive factors to the growth of China-US relations," the Chinese foreign affairs ministry said in a statement welcoming the delegation.
State-run Chinese media, however, said a meeting with Xi was not likely to happen.
The first visit to mainland China by U.S. lawmakers since 2019 comes after several visits to China by Biden administration officials in an effort to mend ties following more than a year of rancor between Washington and Beijing.
The group of senators planned to stop by the facilities of several American companies based in Shanghai.
During the tour, Schumer and the other lawmakers said they planned to raise questions about unfair business practices, including barriers to market access, that were hurting many U.S. companies throughout China.
"When we talk to American companies, they bring that up," Schumer said as he met Chen. "We share those feelings and it affects America's views of China."
But from the outset, Schumer also underscored the trip was intended to demonstrate Washington's commitment to maintaining peace with Beijing amid growing tensions.
"We are the two biggest economies in the world and it behooves the world that we can get along," Schumer said as he met Shanghai Communist Party secretary Chen Jining. "We are prepared to compete but do not seek conflict," he said.
In a statement ahead of the trip, the majority leader called for an end to unfair trade practices between the world's two largest economies.
"The bottom line is that we can both strive to seek to achieve a level playing field as we compete economically and reciprocity, allowing American companies to compete as freely in China as Chinese companies do here," he said.
Chen, meanwhile, described the U.S.-China relationship as pivotal to the global economy, adding that "healthy and stable" diplomacy would benefit both nations.
By making the trip, the senators were also seeking to convince Xi to sit down with President Joe Biden during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco in November. However, it was not clear whether the Chinese leader would attend.
During their meetings throughout the day, the senators discussed stemming the flow of Chinese chemicals that have been used to make fentanyl as the synthetic drug trade throughout Asia was accelerating in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
After leaving China, the delegation plans to visit Japan and South Korea before flying back to Washington.
