WASHINGTON (OSV News) — Ahead of his planned meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping — where topics ranging from artificial intelligence to the Iran war to a potential U.S. arms deal with Taiwan are expected to dominate — advocates have urged President Donald Trump to raise human rights issues, including religious freedom and the imprisonment of Jimmy Lai.
The high-stakes summit, which would be Xi’s first visit to Washington since 2015, is expected to include a state dinner. In a sign of how AI is expected to feature heavily in their summit, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon plan to attend the state dinner, Politico reported.
Critical global issues before Xi and Trump
But many key topics the pair are expected to discuss present points of friction between two world powers: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the U.S.-Iran war and a potential U.S. arms deal with Taiwan, a self-governing and democratic island that China sees as part of its territory.
Mary Ellen O’Connell, a professor at Notre Dame Law School who specializes in international law and conflict resolution, noted in comments to OSV News that Xi “is skipping ‘high-level’ week at United Nations headquarters in New York, despite being in the United States.”
“He is headed to Washington, D.C. for a state visit,” she said. “And no wonder. In New York, diplomats are likely to press him on human rights, including the oppression of Roman Catholics and people of other faiths; the purchase of oil from Russia that is fueling the Ukraine War; racing for advantage in the AI arms race, despite ample evidence of the dangers; lack of democracy and justice; threats to Taiwan and other neighbors; failure to support the U.N. in its goals of environmental protection, global health, poverty eradication, and more.”
Jimmy Lai in the balance
Some of those same issues are among those advocates have urged Trump to remember during his meeting with XI, including threats to religious liberty and the imprisonment of Lai, Hong Kong’s prominent Catholic media tycoon and pro-democracy campaigner.
Lai, who founded the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, protested in favor of democratic freedoms — such as freedom of the press and expression — in Hong Kong, which was designated a Special Administrative Region of China in 1997, ending British rule of that area after more than 150 years. Following pro-democracy protests in 2019, China implemented a purported national security law the next year, which is alleged to have been used to silence the Chinese Communist Party’s critics.
Under that law, Lai was arrested in August 2020 and has been imprisoned since December 2020. He pleaded not guilty to the charges before his Dec. 15 conviction.
‘Don’t take no for an answer’
At a Sept. 16 hearing examining Lai’s imprisonment, Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., a Catholic and co-chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, told OSV News that during the upcoming meeting, Trump “has to be absolutely unmovable.”
“One quick phone call, and it’s done,” Smith said of Xi’s power to authorize Lai’s release. “And that’s what President Trump has to convey.”
“Don’t mince your words,” Smith continued. “That doesn’t mean you have to be rude. Just say, ‘Hey, we care about this wonderful man. Why don’t you?’ So I’m hoping President Trump will be very upfront and persistent. Don’t take no for an answer.”
The White House did not immediately respond to multiple requests for comment about whether Trump plans to raise the issue of Lai’s imprisonment with Xi during the state visit. The office of first lady Melania Trump said Sept. 21 that President Trump will greet Xi and his wife, Madame Peng Liyuan, at Joint Base Andrews on Sept. 23, and that the president and first lady will host the state dinner for them the following day.
Bold action urged on religious persecution
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom also urged Trump to advocate for the release of those imprisoned due to their religion or beliefs during the summit, and to directly address China’s religious persecution.
“President Trump boldly demonstrated to President Xi during their meeting in Beijing earlier this year that the United States stands for religious freedom by calling for the release of freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) prisoners,” Asif Mahmood, chair of USCIRF, said in a Sept. 14 statement. “Speaking up again sends a clear and consistent signal that religious freedom for all is a priority for the United States and that it expects the CCP to respect its population rather than persecute millions for practicing their faith.”
In a Sept. 18 statement, David A. Anderson, USCIRF commissioner, said, “The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), under the leadership of President Xi, has undertaken a genocidal campaign against Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities.”
“It has attempted to eliminate or take complete control of Tibetan Buddhism, and it threatens the free succession of the Dalai Lama,” Anderson continued. “It has arrested independent Protestant church leaders and breached China’s protocols with the Catholic Church. It has attempted to separate ethnic Mongolians from their religious and cultural traditions. It has harassed and imprisoned Falun Gong practitioners, Church of Almighty God members, and followers of other religious and belief communities. And it has carried out a campaign of transnational repression far beyond its borders, including within the United States of America.”
Xi’s agenda in Washington
But Xi can be expected to have his own plans for the meeting, O’Connell argued.
“By now China’s president knows that President Trump is mercurial,” she said. “Xi’s foreign policy team likely has a well-developed plan to manage the relationship aiming at his overriding issue: wealth. Boosting China’s conventional economic indicators is the basis of Xi’s continued hold on leadership. That is why he is in D.C. and not the U.N.”
O’Connell added, “The choice of Washington and what happens there will present a clear issue to American voters. What message do they want to send U.S. leaders about the goals Americans should stand for in the world?”
Kate Scanlon is a national reporter for OSV News covering Washington. Follow her on X @kgscanlon.
