Trump envoy Daines visits Chinese AI and space firms ahead of planned Xi summit

US Senator Steve Daines has completed a trip through China’s technology centers weeks before a planned visit to Washington by Chinese President Xi Jinping, putting the Montana Republican’s meetings in the context of an increasingly tense relationship.

Daines, a close ally of President Donald Trump, traveled from Wednesday to Saturday, visiting Hangzhou, a major Chinese technology hub, and Guangzhou in the south. Chinese local-government and corporate accounts reported that he visited a leading university and several technology firms.

His itinerary brought him into areas that have become central to the US-China strategic rivalry. Artificial intelligence and space exploration are emerging as major competition points, while Washington continues to tighten restrictions on bilateral academic ties and technology cooperation.

The trip also matched an earlier report by the South China Morning Post that Daines would return to China. The visit took place as the two countries continued a technology confrontation that increasingly shapes their broader relationship.