Trump envoy Daines visits Chinese AI, space firms to lay groundwork for Xi summit in US

US Senator Steve Daines, a close ally of President Donald Trump, has wrapped up a days-long trip to China, weeks ahead of Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s planned visit to Washington. According to a Chinese local government and multiple corporate accounts, the Montana Republican travelled from Wednesday to Saturday to China’s tech hub Hangzhou and the southern city of Guangzhou. The visit is consistent with an earlier South China Morning Post report about Daines’ return trip to China. Those…