President Xi Jinping received a lavish state welcome from Trump in Washington on Wednesday, while lawmakers from both parties used his visit to criticize China and press Trump on Iran, Taiwan arms sales and chip controls. U.S. officials accuse China of aiding Iran in the war.
Sen. Roger Wicker, chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Xi should not have been invited for a lavish visit and urged Trump to raise the Chinese Navy’s harassment of Filipino fishermen and sailors, Taiwan, trade and AI. The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party released a video critical of Xi that had been viewed more than 245,000 times on X.
Sen. Mitch McConnell and three other Republican senators urged the administration to advance aid and arms sales to Taiwan. The U.S. had paused a record $14 billion arms-sale package after Trump’s May summit with Xi; Trump called the sales a “very good negotiating chip.” Separately, Sen. Chuck Schumer and three Democratic senators warned that weakening controls on advanced chips and equipment could erase the U.S. lead in AI.
