Schumer will lead delegation to China, Korea, and Japan

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer will soon lead a delegation of lawmakers to China, Japan, and Korea that will include leading Republicans.

The lawmakers plan to visit the region with the aim of "advancing U.S. economic and national security interests," Schumer's office stated, per the Associated Press.

In addition to the New York senator, Republican Sens. Mike Crapo, Idaho, Bill Cassidy, La., and John Kennedy, La., will participate in the diplomatic trip. Sens. Jon Ossoff, Ga., and Maggie Hassan, N.H., will make up the remainder of the Democratic contingent, according to The Hill.

The trip is slated for next week and follows prior visits to China by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo earlier this year.

Blinken's visit in June was postponed from earlier this year after the aerial incursion of a suspected Chinese spy balloon. The aircraft travelled across the continental United States, largely unimpeded, before the U.S. shot it down off the coast of the Carolinas in early February.

The incident further strained the already tense relationship between Washington and Beijing.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.