Senate Majority Leader Schumer To Lead CODEL To China This Week

Punchbowl News has reported that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) will lead a bipartisan Congressional Delegation (CODEL) to China this week. The CODEL, which will also include stops in South Korea and Japan, is likely to depart California shortly after the funeral of former Democrat Senator Dianne Feinstein on Thursday.

• The CODEL will include Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID), the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, and Senators Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), John Kennedy (R-LA) and Jon Ossoff (D-GA).
• Schumer’s office told Punchbowl News that his goal is to “advance U.S. economic and national security interests in the region,” and "senators plan to meet with ‘government officials and business leaders from each country."
• According to Reuters, a spokesperson for Senator Crapo said the group hopes to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping while in China.
• Schumer is a key lawmaker in the US drive to “de-risk” from China and was instrumental in advocating for the CHIPS and Science Act, the huge package of legislation to stimulate competition with China in high-tech manufacturing. Punchbowl reports that, “Schumer wants to pass another massive — and more comprehensive — package to counter China next year.”
• The Schumer CODEL comes as Beijing and Washington attempt to lower tensions ahead of the APEC summit in San Francisco in November. China’s top diplomat Wang Yi is expected to visit the US in the coming weeks to lay the groundwork for President Xi’s APEC attendance and a first meeting with Biden since November last year.