WASHINGTON, April 28 (Reuters) - More than 70 Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives urged President Donald Trump on Tuesday not to permit Chinese automakers to build or sell cars in the United States.

The lawmakers, led by Representative Debbie Dingell and Ro Khanna, urged Trump to keep a ban in place that has the strong backing of U.S. and foreign carmakers and other auto groups.

Three Democratic senators made a similar push this month, ahead of Trump's planned summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in May.

"We must not cede the American auto industry to a strategic competitor intent on global dominance," the lawmakers said in a letter.

"We urge you to take clear and decisive action to ensure that Chinese automakers are not permitted to enter the United

States market in any capacity."

The Biden administration imposed sweeping regulations in January 2025 that effectively ban Chinese automakers from selling passenger vehicles in the United States, ⁠citing national security concerns linked to the vehicles' ability to collect sensitive data on American owners.

High tariffs also face Chinese autos, but U.S. consumers have become more interested in the vehicles, recent surveys show.

In a statement, the Chinese Embassy in Washington urged the United States to "stop overstretching the concept of national security, cease discriminatory and exclusionary measures and provide a fair, transparent, and non-discriminatory business environment."

The White House responded, "While the administration is always working to secure more investment into America's industrial resurgence, any notion that we would ever compromise our national security to do so is baseless and false."

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.

Last month, auto trade groups representing nearly all major car companies urged the U.S. government to keep out Chinese carmakers.

Republican Senator Bernie Moreno ​of Ohio said he would propose legislation ​to seal off the United ⁠States so "there's never a scenario where a Chinese automobile will enter our market, that's hardware, that's software, that's partnerships."