By Russell Flannery
Vermont’s U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders held a low-profile meeting with Chinese Ambassador to the United States Xie Feng in Washington on Monday.
In a brief, 52-word statement on its website on Thursday, the Chinese embassy said:
“On February 2, 2026, Chinese Ambassador to the United States Xie Feng met with U.S. Senator Bernard Sanders, Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, who represents the state of Vermont. The two sides exchanged views on the China-U.S. relationship and other issues of shared interest.”
Sanders website as of Feb. 5 had no press release on the Feb. 2 meeting. Xie is China’s top government representative in the U.S.
The meeting came during the same week that President Donald Trump spoke by phone with Chinese President Xi Jinping ahead of a planned trip by the U.S. leader to China in April.
Sanders, an 84-year-old New York City native, former U.S. presidential election candidate and national political figure, has been closely associated with newly elected New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who was sworn in by Sanders on Jan. 1. In addition Sanders speaks frequently alongside ambitious U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a fellow democratic socialist from New York’s 14th Congressional district. The city is home to one of the country’s largest Chinese American populations.
Chen Li, China’s consul general in New York, met with Lieutenant Governor John Rodgers and Montpelier Mayor Jack McCullough on June 26, 2025 in Vermont. Notable Vermont companies doing business in China include snowboard maker Burton. China’s winter sports industry has boomed following its hosting of the 2022 Winter Olympics
Xie became China’s U.S. ambassador in 2023.