US lawmaker warns of military 'misunderstanding' risk with China

BEIJING 23 Sept 2025: The top U.S. Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, Adam Smith, cautioned on Tuesday in Beijing that breakneck advances in defense technology between the US and China heighten the risk of military misunderstandings, urging both nations to engage in more open dialogue to prevent accidental conflicts.

Speaking during a rare congressional visit, Smith emphasized the urgent need for improved communication as AI, drone warfare, cyber, and space capabilities evolve swiftly.

Adam Smith, the most senior Democrat on Washington's Armed Services Committee, told journalists in Beijing that China needs to talk more about its military with other global powers "for basic de-confliction".

"We've seen this with our ships, our planes, their ships, their planes coming entirely too close to one another," he said at a news conference at the US Embassy.

"We need to have a better conversation about de-conflicting those things."

The four-person delegation also includes other members of the same Armed Services Committee -- Democrats Ro Khanna and Chrissy Houlahan -- as well as Republican congressman Michael Baumgartner, a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

The group on Monday met Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun, with whom they talked about the importance of "working through our differences" and more candid dialogue, according to a statement from the US side.

Dong called on the visitors to "remove disruptive and restrictive factors" between them, China's Xinhua state news agency reported.

Tariffs n TikTok

The bipartisan congressional delegation comes just days after Presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump spoke by telephone for the second time since the return to the White House of Trump, who has tried to keep a lid on tensions despite his once virulent criticism of China.

Trump said he would meet Xi on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea starting at the end of next month and that he would travel to China next year.

He said Xi would also visit the United States at an unspecified time and that the two leaders would speak again by telephone.

Both sides dramatically hiked tariffs against each other during a months-long dispute earlier this year, disrupting global supply chains.

Washington and Beijing then reached a deal to reduce levies, with the United States imposing 30 percent duties on imports of Chinese goods and China hitting US products with a 10 percent tariff. The deal expires in November.

The delegation will also meet China's National People's Congress Chairman Zhao Leji and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.