It would mark the first trip to the city by a sitting US senator since the Covid-19 pandemic.

Daines would meet American business leaders in Hong Kong on March 30, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to comment publicly on the matter.

The senator from Montana has played a prominent role in US-China trade relations during both of Trump’s terms, holding high-profile meetings with Chinese trade officials in 2019 and again last year.

The sources said several US business leaders in Hong Kong had been invited to the meeting to discuss key concerns in the American corporate community about mainland China and Hong Kong, but declined to reveal further details about the senator’s itinerary.