On September 24, during Xi Jinping's visit to the United States, former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi attended the "Free Tibet" protest rally at the National Mall in Washington and delivered a speech, criticizing that if the U.S. remains silent on human rights and religious freedom violations for economic interests, it will lose its moral credibility on human rights issues. Representative McGovern also spoke at the event, criticizing the White House for once welcoming the Dalai Lama and now welcoming authoritarian leaders and greedy billionaires.
On September 23, Pelosi co-signed an open letter to Trump, urging him to oppose China's Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law during his meeting with Xi Jinping. The letter expressed concern that the extraterritorial application of the law would escalate transnational repression against critics residing in the US, including impacts on US citizens.