Senator Steve Daines said in an interview that in meetings with Chinese officials, he called for talks between President Trump and China’s leader, Xi Jinping.

U.S. Senator Steve Daines, a strong supporter of President Donald Trump, met Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng with warm exchanges in front of journalists on Saturday even as tensions between their countries spiked over trade tariffs and the handling of the illegal trade in fentanyl.

U.S. Senator Steve Daines, a strong supporter of President Donald Trump met with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng with warm exchanges in front of journalists on Saturday as tensions between their countr

Chinese experts say Beijing is open to talks but is being stonewalled by the State Department and other official channels.

Talks about a “birthday summit,” which are in the early stages, come as the Trump administration is ramping up tariffs against China.

President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on March 21 denied that Tesla CEO Elon Musk had been invited to a Pentagon briefing focused on threats posed by China alongside Musk’s efforts with DOGE.