U.S. lawmakers propose China threat resolution ahead of Trump-Xi summit

Washington, May 1 (CNA) U.S. lawmakers across party lines on Friday introduced a resolution to express their concerns over China's threats toward Taiwan, with peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as its stated focus, ahead of a planned summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in mid-May.

In a statement, the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee said the resolution, led by Democratic Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Chris Coons and Republican Senator Pete Ricketts, affirmed bipartisan concerns over growing threats posed by China to U.S. national security and economic prosperity at a critical moment for U.S.-China ties.

"The resolution calls for a continued and steady focus on strengthening deterrence in the Indo-Pacific, protecting American workers and businesses from unfair economic practices, maintaining leadership in artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies, supporting allies and partners, preserving peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and advancing human rights and democratic values," the committee said in the statement.

According to the resolution, China has rapidly expanded and modernized its military capability, compromising freedom of navigation in vital lanes of commerce, including the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea.

The resolution also stated that China aimed to change the status quo across the Taiwan Strait by coercion or force, including by delaying or denying third-party involvement in a contingency plan if conflict broke out.

In addition, the resolution blamed China for exercising its influence to obstruct Taiwan's participation in international organizations.

"Communist China is the greatest threat to the American way of life ... We must deter Communist China. We must stand with our partner and allies that Beijing threatens," Ricketts said in the committee's statement.

In the run-up to the U.S.-China summit, "the United States Senate is sending a clear message: remember who Xi Jinping and the PRC are," Coons said in the same statement. "We must stand with our allies and partners and work with every tool of the U.S. government to combat these aggressive practices."

Trump is scheduled to visit China during May 14-15 and meet with Xi, marking the first summit since both leaders met in Busan, South Korea in October 2025.

Resolutions in the U.S. Congress express lawmakers' positions or opinions on specific issues and do not require the president's signature, so they have no legal effect.