UPDATE - Chinese President Xi meets with visiting US senators

UPDATES WITH MEETING BETWEEN CHINESE PRESIDENT XI AND VISITING US LAWMAKERS; CHANGES HEADLINE, LEDE

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – China’s President Xi Jinping on Monday met with visiting US lawmakers in Beijing.

Xi met with US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who is leading a bipartisan delegation of senators to China, Beijing-based Xinhua News Agency reported.

Earlier today, he met China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

“We hope this visit will contribute to a more objective understanding of China in the US Congress, increase dialogue and communication between the legislatures of our two countries, and add positive factors to the growth of China-US relations,” China’s Foreign Ministry had said ahead of the trip.

Schumer-led group, which includes Sen. Michael D. Crapo, Bill Cassidy, Maggie Hassan, John Kennedy, and Jon Ossoff, is also expected to visit Japan and South Korea.

Schumer’s office said the trip “will focus on the issues of economic competition and security, American national security, and global leadership in advanced technology.”