Bipartisan Senators Urge Trump to Hold Firm on China Shipbuilding Ahead of Xi Summit

President Donald Trump boards Air Force One before departing Miami International Airport in Miami on March 27, 2026. Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP via Getty ImagesAs President Donald Trump prepares for high-stakes talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing on May 14–15, a bipartisan group of senators is urging him to draw a hard line on maritime trade, arguing that U.S. shipbuilding capacity, and national security, hang in the balance.In a May 11 letter, Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Todd Young, (R-Ind.), and Tim Scott (R-S.C.) warned that the United States faces “an inflection point” after decades of decline in commercial shipbuilding. They called on Trump to resist any concessions that would weaken existing trade measures targeting Chinese-built vessels.