Congress to Maintain Pressure on China Over Human Rights, Tech, Lawmaker Says

The Joe Biden administration should expect immediate bipartisan pressure from Congress to tackle human rights issues in China, including calls for potential sanctions and other restrictive measures, said Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash. Although observers and officials have said they expect Biden to continue many of the current administration’s China trade restrictions (see 2011250054 and 2011250019), Congress will likely call for more actions, Larsen said. “There's not a lot of wiggle room on the role of human rights,” Larsen said during a Dec. 15 online event hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “And there's not a lot of wiggle room on the issue of technology.”

Larsen said Democrats and Republicans plan to take a “much stronger vocal and rhetorical stance on what's going on in Hong Kong,” and China’s treatment of ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang region. He said the U.S. should show Beijing that it is “in for human rights for the long term” and will make the issue a centerpiece of any future negotiations. “It may become an annoyance or an outright insult to the Beijing leadership,” Larsen said. “I don't think that members of Congress are going to care about that.”

While he said some sanctions are effective, Larsen criticized the latest round of U.S. restrictions against 14 members of China’s National People’s Congress Standing Committee (see 2012070024). The sanctions include visa restrictions and a travel ban, which will limit the NPC’s ability to meet and speak with U.S. officials and lawmakers and could hinder potential negotiations, Larsen said.

“I know the NPC is a rubber stamp. But I do know that they're also communicators with others in the Chinese leadership,” he said. “Travel bans like this kind of get in the way of continuing those discussions and those debates.” A State Department spokesperson said the foreign officials engaged in “sanctionable activity,” adding that the agency is “prepared to take further action.”

Larsen also said he would like the Biden administration to employ a more proactive technology strategy to counter China, including more domestic investment and cooperation with allies. “The steps that we've taken don’t really reflect an offense but rather the United States getting defensive,” Larsen said. “What are we doing about being active on standards setting when these groups meet to set standards on technology?” Larsen said the U.S. needs “well laid out plans” to put more multilateral pressure on China. “I think that’s where we lack,” he said. “That's a change that I'd like to see happen in this incoming administration.”