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.