Trump envoy Daines visits Chinese AI, space firms to lay groundwork for Xi summit in US

US Senator Steve Daines, a close ally of President Donald Trump, visited Chinese AI and space firms in Hangzhou and Guangzhou from Wednesday to Saturday, laying groundwork for Chinese leader Xi Jinping's planned visit to Washington. The trip coincides with an intensifying tech war between the US and China, where AI and space exploration are critical battlegrounds.

Advertisement Trump envoy Daines visits Chinese AI, space firms to lay groundwork for Xi summit in US Montana Republican’s trip coincides with intensifying tech war that has become a core front in the US-China strategic rivalry 3-MIN READ3-MIN 1 Listen US Senator Steve Daines, a close ally of President Donald Trump, has wrapped up a days-long trip to China, weeks ahead of Chinese leader Xi Jinping https://www.scmp.com/topics/xi-jinping?module=inline&pgtype=article?module=inline&pgtype=article ’s planned visit to Washington https://www.scmp.com/topics/2026-xi-trump-summits?module=inline&pgtype=article?module=inline&pgtype=article .According to a Chinese local government and multiple corporate accounts, the Montana Republican travelled from Wednesday to Saturday to China’s tech hub Hangzhou and the southern city of Guangzhou. The visit is consistent with an earlier South China Morning Post report https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3362582/trump-envoy-steve-daines-return-beijing-us-and-china-lock-xi-summit-agenda?module=inline&pgtype=article about Daines’ return trip to China.Those reports showed that the Trump envoy visited a top Chinese university and several technology firms. Daines’ trip coincided with an intensifying tech war https://www.scmp.com/topics/us-china-tech-war?module=inline&pgtype=article that has become a core front in the US-China strategic rivalry. As artificial intelligence https://www.scmp.com/topics/artificial-intelligence?module=inline&pgtype=article and space exploration emerge as critical battlegrounds, Washington continues to tighten restrictions on bilateral academic ties.Advertisement Select Voice Select Speed 1.00x