A Trumpy senator has split with the president over his choice of dinner guest.
Donald Trump will welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping to the White House on Thursday for a lavish state dinner, as the 80-year-old seeks to curry favor with Beijing on everything from trade to AI.
While Trump is expected to be on a charm offensive, courting the 73-year-old, not everyone thinks the U.S. should roll out the red carpet for him.
Among them is Senate Armed Services Chair Roger Wicker, a traditional Republican who has historically come to Trump’s defense. But on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, that wasn’t the case.
“Had the White House asked me for advice, I would have suggested the president not invite Xi Jinping to Washington for such a lavish welcome here in the United States of America, based on all of the troubling issues we have with President Xi and the Chinese Communist Party,” he said.
Trump is due to personally welcome Xi at Andrews Air Force Base on Wednesday, in what will be his first state visit in almost a decade. Trump visited China in May, but Xi did not travel to the tarmac to greet him.
“As we know, a proper state visit requires a proper state dinner,” the senator from Mississippi continued. “Again, I would not have scheduled such a thing, but as guests converse, converse over the meal, the president might inquire about the purposes of China’s massive military buildup or about China’s clear support for Iran.
“This summer, it was all over the press that China gave Iran satellite imagery intelligence, and that intelligence led to the death of American troops. So I would certainly suggest that the president try to get an answer to that. And while President Trump and President Xi are talking, perhaps Mr. Trump could bring up the Uyghur people.
“For nearly a decade, Xi Jinping has consigned more than a million Uyghurs to concentration camps in China’s Xinjiang region.
“I hope our president will take this visit as an opportunity to advocate for the Uyghur people. The fact that they remain in prison by the millions is a grave injustice and a reminder of Xi Jinping’s many human rights abuses.”
Roughly one million Uyghurs and other minorities have been forced into labor camps in the western region of Xinjiang. The Chinese government says it aims to reduce poverty and extremism and to expand education.
The mass control of the Uyghur population has led to outcry and condemnation worldwide. The U.S. passed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act in 2021, banning imports from Xinjiang over fears goods were made with forced labor.
Wicker went on to say that during the dinner, “the president should mention China’s persecution of all manner of religious groups,” and “ask why China openly coerces Japan, Taiwan, and the Philippines. The Chinese dictator works hard to intimidate America’s allies in the East China Sea, the Taiwan Straits, and the Second Thomas Shoal. China also bullies, jails, and otherwise silences dissidents.”
The Second Thomas Shoal is a disputed underwater reef, claimed by several countries, including China.
Wicker mentioned China’s “exploitation” of Africa via “debt trap diplomacy,” before going into more detail about its “reunification” projects, which are underway in Hong Kong and are feared to be on the horizon with Taiwan.
“I know the president tends to discuss trade and artificial intelligence with the Chinese leadership, and rightfully so. Perhaps some progress will be made.
“But Mr. President, during every minute of dialogue, our commander in chief should keep in mind that his guest is a brutal, unelected and oppressive dictator who seeks to dominate his neighbors and whose massive military arsenal is aimed directly at the United States of America.”
The U.S. and China reached a trade agreement last year that cooled economic tensions, but that deal is set to expire in November.
Other Republicans have raised the alarm over Trump’s plans to pull out all the stops for Xi’s visit, given that voters have consistently ranked cost-of-living concerns as a chief anxiety ahead of the midterms.
“I don’t think people really want to see you toasting the Chinese premier,” one Republican with close ties to the White House told Politico. “You’re hosting this glamorous state dinner at a time when people are like, ‘Are you focused on me?’”
Meanwhile, progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders wrote this week: “For the sake of all humanity, Trump and Xi must negotiate a treaty NOW to pause AI and ban superintelligence before it’s too late.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
