Trump ally Steve Daines will be first sitting US senator to visit Hong Kong since 2019

2026.03.20 09:20 US Senator Steve Daines, who is expected to visit Hong Kong this month, has a long history with China, dating back to his position with Procter & Gamble in the 1990s. Photo: Reuters US Senator Steve Daines, a close ally of President Donald Trump, will make the first visit to Hong Kong by a sitting US senator since 2019 at the end of this month, according to sources. Sources who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to comment publicly on the matter said Daines would meet American business leaders in Hong Kong on March 30. Daines has played a prominent role in US-China trade relations during both of Trump’s terms, holding high-profile meetings with Chinese trade officials in 2019 and again last year. Sources said several US business leaders in Hong Kong had been invited to the meeting to discuss key concerns in the American corporate community about mainland China and Hong Kong, but declined to reveal further details about the senator’s itinerary in town. “This fact-finding trip will help Senator Daines and President Trump to have better knowledge of what’s going on in Hong Kong and China,” said one source who is familiar with details of the trip. The most recent visits by sitting US senators were by senators Josh Hawley, Ted Cruz and Rick Scott who all went to Hong Kong in September and October 2019 amid anti-government protests. The pandemic and increasing US-China tension are among reasons for the long time between visits by a US senator. News of Daines’ Hong Kong trip comes soon after Washington asked Beijing to postpone Trump’s planned trip to China by “five or six weeks” because of the ongoing war in Iran. The Montana Republican had previously announced he would lead a bipartisan congressional delegation to China – including stops in Beijing and Shanghai and a high-speed train trip between the two cities – following Trump’s visit to the country initially planned for March 31 to April 2. But after Trump’s visit was del

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