DETROIT — As President Donald Trump meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping this week, U.S. politicians as well as the global auto industry are warning that allowing Chinese automakers into the market could become a Pandora’s box.
President Trump said earlier this month that it might be “ok” to allow Chinese automakers to enter the United States if they produce cars domestically, leading a consortium of auto industry groups representing all major aspects of the U.S. auto industry to urge him to reconsider that position.
It was a rare unified message from automakers, franchise dealers and suppliers operating in the United States. More than 20 Democratic members of Congress followed suit with a letter of their own urging President Trump to maintain U.S. restrictions on Chinese automakers.
“It’s not a partisan issue at this point,” Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., told reporters Wednesday. “The question is, do you want to make cars in the United States and do you want a manufacturing base that can rotate when you need it? If you want that, you shouldn’t put cars in the United States.”
President Trump is scheduled to host Xi and a delegation from China on Thursday and Friday, which could reportedly include Wang Chuanfu, founder of BYD, China’s largest automaker, and Robin Zeng, founder of CATL, the world’s top electric vehicle battery maker.
Michael Dunn is an expert on the Chinese automobile industry and former general motors The executive said even the possibility that these two executives would attend underscores the importance of Xi’s visit to the U.S. auto industry.
GM CEO Mary Barra is also expected to be among the attendees at President Trump’s state dinner for President Xi, Reuters reported on Wednesday. tesla CEO Elon Musk.
As for America’s other largest automakers, ford motor He did not say whether CEO Jim Farley would attend, after the Department of Transportation criticized the company over its relations with China, including its license agreement with CATL. According to Reuters, Chrysler’s parent company Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa said he was out of the country and had no plans to attend.
As a bipartisan bill to ban Chinese automakers from the United States moves through Congress, industry insiders and onlookers are voicing concerns similar to those raised by automakers and lawmakers.
The pressure campaign comes as Chinese automakers are rapidly expanding outside their domestic market, particularly into Europe and Latin America. There are concerns among global automakers that Chinese rivals such as BYD and Geely, which receive heavy government subsidies, could invade global markets and drive down domestic production and car prices.
Dunn said he doesn’t think those concerns are overblown. He said Chinese automakers “will soon overwhelm the U.S. auto industry in the same way that they are currently ravaging Europe.”
According to market research and consulting firm GlobalData, the global market share of Chinese brands increased by nearly 70% from 2020 to 2025. Automakers’ market share in Europe rose from almost zero in 2020 to 12% in August, according to Germany-based Dataforce.
“Many Chinese automakers are currently engaged in a deadly price war domestically,” Dunn wrote in a post on Monday. “There are deficits everywhere. Access to the United States, the world’s most lucrative car market, is like a giant tank of life-saving oxygen.”
“Very aggressive attack”
For most of this century, China was one of the world’s largest and fastest growing markets. Automakers outside China flocked to the historically closed country in hopes of huge sales and profits.
However, after years of success for automakers such as GM, China’s auto sector has rapidly transformed from a closed industry to the world’s largest automobile exporter.
Experts say China’s growth is being fueled by government funding for businesses and the culture of innovation and speed the country has instilled in its workers. The decision to expand exports was made in response to a slowdown in the Chinese market and underutilization of factories.
BYD Sealion 6 DM-i on display at the Busan International Mobility Show 2026 in South Korea, June 27, 2026.
Sopa Images | Light Rocket | Getty Images
Christian Meunier, Nissan’s chairman for the Americas, said competing with Chinese automakers outside the United States is a “hell of a challenge.”
“They have a decent product, but it’s all dumping,” he told CNBC in a recent interview. “We know we’re not competing with[car manufacturers]we’re competing with the government. … They’re very aggressively attacking it.”
Meunier said Japanese automakers are trying their best to compete with China by expanding globally to cut costs and improve efficiency.
“We need to be ready for the day they come to the United States, because it’s going to happen someday. I hope it’s not tomorrow, but it’s going to happen someday,” he said.
Dunn said China’s ambitions and way of doing business are very different from those of U.S. allies, so it’s different from allowing imports from Japan, South Korea and other countries.
“As Xi Jinping has repeatedly hinted, China’s goal is to ‘make other countries more dependent on China and China less dependent on other countries.’ That is not a friendly attitude,” Dunn said.
—CNBC’s Justin Papp contributed to this report.
