Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich says Chinese President Xi Jinping should bring an unexpected guest when he travels to Washington next week to meet President Donald J. Trump: imprisoned Hong Kong publisher Jimmy Lai.
Xi and Trump are set to discuss trade, artificial intelligence, investment and international competition. Reports indicate Xi plans to bring a large delegation of Chinese business executives, which Gingrich reads as a signal that Beijing wants to reduce tariffs and ease trade restrictions that are hurting China’s economy.
Gingrich argues that if Xi wants to prove he’s serious about a fairer relationship with the West, releasing Lai to the care of his family would be a far more powerful gesture than any trade delegation.
Who is Jimmy Lai
Lai, 78, is a British Catholic newspaper publisher and longtime advocate for democracy in Hong Kong. In December 2025, a Hong Kong court convicted him of national security and sedition offenses under China’s security law. On Feb. 9, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison — effectively a life sentence given his age.
Gingrich calls the case an example of the Chinese Communist Party silencing public dissent in Hong Kong, a move he says was nearly universally rejected across the Western world.
President Trump has called for Lai’s release since campaigning in 2024 and reportedly raised the case again with Xi in May. Trump told reporters ahead of that meeting: “[Lai] tried to do the right thing. He wasn’t successful. Went to jail, and people would like him out. And I’d like to see him get out, too. So, I’ll bring him up again. I have brought him up.”
The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has called for Lai’s immediate release, as have the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and other G7 countries.
Health concerns in custody
Lai has spent more than five years in prolonged solitary confinement, at times in extreme summer heat, and that time does not count toward his 20-year sentence. He reportedly suffers from diabetes, high blood pressure, heart issues and crippling fatigue, and has been denied independent specialist medical treatment.
Hong Kong authorities describe the case as a national security matter. Gingrich says it’s clear Lai is being punished for journalism and peaceful political activity critical of the Chinese government.
If President Xi wants to make a strong impression — and clearly communicate that he is serious about seeking a better relationship with President Trump and the U.S. — he should bring Lai with him to Washington and release him to the care of his family.
Gingrich acknowledges that releasing Lai wouldn’t resolve disputes over tariffs, Taiwan, rare earth minerals, technology trade, industrial policy or other human rights concerns. But he says it would be a meaningful signal of good faith that could help reset a strained U.S.-China relationship and open the summit on better footing.
