China hawks join forces in US Congress to pressure Trump ahead of Xi’s visit

Trump administration criticised for focusing on achieving economic gains from Beijing while neglecting political and human rights issues3-MIN READ3-MIN2ListenPublished: 11:16pm, 18 Sep 2026US lawmakers critical of China had a busy week on Capitol Hill, stepping up their activity ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s expected visit to President Donald Trump in Washington next week.China-focused members of Congress and commissions held multiple hearings on issues ranging from human rights to trade and supply chains – an apparent effort to put a range of issues on Trump’s agenda for his talks with Xi.A former senior US official said congressional Republicans had given Trump “a huge leash” to negotiate with Beijing during his first 20 months in office, but that there had now been “a shortening of the leash” as lawmakers pressed ahead with China-related initiatives.The China" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="46252" data-entity-type="organization">House Select Committee on China, the China" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="125313" data-entity-type="organization">Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) and the House Foreign Affairs Committee have all held China-related hearings this week.Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also took part in a “shadow hearing” on Tuesday organised by Democratic members on human rights in China, criticising the Trump administration for focusing on economic benefits while neglecting political and human rights issues.07:13Did Jimmy Lai get a fair trial? Hong Kong legal experts rebut criticism from the West“If we do not speak up for human rights in China because of commercial interests, we lose all moral authority to speak up for human rights any place in the world,” Pelosi said at the event. “Apparently, we seem to be abdicating that right.”Pelosi, 86, a San Francisco Democrat and long-time hawkish voice to Beijing, is retiring from Congress. Jonathan Stivers, a commissioner on the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission and the US Director of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation, also testified at the hearing.