WASHINGTON, March 13 (Reuters) - Major auto trade groups urged the Trump administration to keep Chinese carmakers out of the U.S., raising concerns ahead of President Donald Trump's planned meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, according to a letter seen by Reuters.

The groups raised "serious concerns about China's ongoing efforts to dominate global automotive manufacturing and to gain access to the U.S. market. These actions pose a direct threat to America's global competitiveness, national security, and automotive industrial base."

A 2025 U.S. Commerce Department cybersecurity regulation effectively keeps nearly all Chinese vehicles out of the U.S. market and the five groups representing automakers, car dealers and parts manufacturers said it should be maintained.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately comment.

"We also strongly urge the Administration to reject any attempt by Chinese manufacturers to circumvent these existing restrictions by establishing production facilities in the U.S.," said the letter dated Thursday from the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, National Automobile Dealers Association, American Automotive Policy Council and other groups. "The market distortions and risks to the auto industry in the U.S. are fundamentally the same whether these vehicles are imported or produced domestically."

In January, Trump said he was open to Chinese automakers building vehicles in the United States. "If they want to come in and build a plant and hire you and hire your friends and your neighbors, that's great, I love that," he told the Detroit Economic Club.

In December, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents General Motors ( GM ), Ford, Toyota Motor ( TM ), Volkswagen, Hyundai, Stellantis ( STLA ) and other major automakers said "China poses a clear and present threat to the auto industry in the U.S" and urged Washington to prevent Chinese government-backed automakers and battery manufacturers from opening U.S. manufacturing plants.