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

Senator Steve Daines, a trusted ally of President Donald Trump, concluded a multi-day trip to China this week, just weeks before Chinese leader Xi Jinping's anticipated visit to the United States. Over the course of Wednesday to Saturday, Daines journeyed from Hangzhou, China's technological hub, to Guangzhou, a city in the south.

This visit aligns with earlier reports that highlighted his return to China, during which he engaged with a prominent university and several tech firms. The timing of Daines' trip is significant given the escalating technology conflict between the US and China, with artificial intelligence and space exploration emerging as strategic fronts.

As the two nations prepare for a summit in late August, AI is anticipated to be a prominent topic of discussion. Daines' mission stands in stark contrast to a July delegation from the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, which faced denial when attempting to visit multiple Chinese tech leaders. As a notable intermediary between Washington and Beijing, Daines has played a crucial role in recent years.

His late-August excursion to China aims to finalize the agenda for the upcoming summit. Notably, Daines has not publicly disclosed specifics of his recent journey. According to a social media update from Monday, Daines was already in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, when Xi attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation's annual summit and paid a state visit.

On August 25, US Ambassador to Japan George Glass shared a post indicating Daines' trip to Japan, where they discussed the US-Japan alliance on "the future of AI, quantum, and other cutting-edge technologies and the future of energy." On Monday, eHang, a Guangzhou-based firm specializing in autonomous electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, revealed Daines' visit on Saturday, which included a flight in their product with his wife, Cindy.

EHang was accompanied by Pauline Kao, the U.S. consul general in Guangzhou; Geng Shuang, vice president of the Chinese People's Institute of Foreign Affairs; and numerous Guangzhou officials. Daines shared his impressions of the test flight, likening it to scenes from the animated series The Jetsons, and expressed his support for their expansion into the U.S. market.

Daines, who visited Hangzhou from August 26 to 29, was accompanied by Geng, US Ambassador to China David Perdue, and US Consul General in Shanghai Christian Marchant. During their meeting with Zhejiang's governor, Liu Jie, Daines expressed his willingness to facilitate friendly exchanges between local governments in both countries.

Zhejiang University, where Daines also visited, has shown interest in strengthening ties with the U.S. The Pentagon recently ordered 30 U.S. universities to review their relationships with Chinese research partners. During Daines' stay in Hangzhou, he visited Bota, an AI-driven biomanufacturing company, and observed a demonstration of next-generation AI smart glasses by Rokid.

Additionally, he toured Star Vision, a private commercial space company, discussing satellite remote sensing technology and expressing interest in future cooperation.