Democratic Lawmakers Press Trump to Keep Ban on Chinese Automakers Before Xi Meeting

Jamieson Greer and General Jack Keane discuss the upcoming summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, highlighting a proposed artificial‑intelligence hotline aimed at addressing mutual national‑security concerns.

More than two dozen Democratic lawmakers are urging President Donald Trump to keep existing restrictions that bar Chinese automakers from the U.S. market ahead of his meeting with President Xi.

Trump is scheduled to meet Xi on Thursday in Washington, where the two leaders are expected to discuss the trade pact, artificial intelligence, the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, and other key geopolitical issues.

Representative Debbie Dingell (D‑Mich.) is leading a group of 27 lawmakers in pressing Trump to preserve U.S. restrictions on Chinese cars and vehicle technology.

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More than two dozen Democratic lawmakers are calling on President Donald Trump to maintain a ban on Chinese automakers. (Brendan Smialowski – Pool/Getty Images / Getty Images)

“We urge you to maintain strong protections against Chinese automobiles and connected‑vehicle technologies and ensure that China does not gain access to our market through direct imports, local production, and other avenues of circumvention,” the lawmakers wrote.

In a video message released on social media Monday, Dingell said she is working to protect U.S. auto manufacturing and to prevent Trump from “making any deal that allows China into our country where they’re categorically not competing on a level playing field.”

She warned that “the communist Chinese government subsidizes its production by more than 50 % of the cost,” manipulates its currency, uses slave labor, and has already exported more than 6.2 million passenger vehicles from China this year—surpassing its total 2025 exports. “They want a foot in the door of our domestic auto industry, and they will try to destroy it,” Dingell said. “Our workers are the best in the world, and they can compete with anyone when the game isn’t rigged. The risks extend far beyond just economic competition.”

President Donald Trump is expected to discuss trade, artificial intelligence, and other geopolitical issues during Thursday’s meeting with President Xi.

“Today’s vehicles are supercomputers that are moving and collecting and transmitting all kinds of data,” Dingell noted. “When you’re in an autonomous vehicle, they gather data from your iPhone, your computer, and they drive by military installations or other companies, creating a national‑security threat.”

She said she has introduced bipartisan legislation that already has the support of about a hundred congressional colleagues to bar China from “destroying our auto industry.”

“That’s why I reacted so viscerally when I heard the president say he would let China manufacture vehicles in the United States,” she added.

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Rep. Debbie Dingell is leading a group of 27 lawmakers in pressuring President Donald Trump to preserve U.S. restrictions on Chinese cars and vehicle technology. (Tom Williams/CQ‑Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images / Getty Images)

“Let me be very clear: it’s not okay. American workers need our protection from anyone who will use unfair practices, wants to destroy our jobs and raise costs for everyone. I will always stand with the American worker and the manufacturing industry to protect jobs, our economy and our national security,” Dingell said.

The congresswoman was referring to Trump’s recent comment to Fox News that he would accept Chinese auto companies building cars in the U.S.

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