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

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Sep 1, 2026 #AI, #Beijing, #China, #donald trump, #Guangzhou, #Hangzhou, #Kyrgyzstan, #Montana, #South China Morning Post (SCMP), #Steve Daines, #US, #Washington, #Xi Jinping, #Zhejiang University

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

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US Senator Steve Daines (centre) leads a group of visitors to the headquarters of EHang, a Chinese manufacturer of autonomous electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, in Guangzhou on Saturday. Photo: Handout

Orange WangPublished: 7:54pm, 1 Sep 2026US 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’s planned visit to Washington.

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 about Daines’ return trip to China.

Those reports showed that the Trump envoy visited a top Chinese university and several technology firms.

01:48US bans imports of new Chinese robots and power inverters in latest tech crackdownDaines’ trip coincided with an intensifying tech war that has become a core front in the US-China strategic rivalry. As artificial intelligence and space exploration emerge as critical battlegrounds, Washington continues to tighten restrictions on bilateral academic ties.AdvertisementSelect VoiceSelect Speed00:0000:001.00x