Biden Admin. Should Do More to Limit US Business Ties With China, Hong Kong, Lawmakers Say
The Biden administration must do more to convince U.S. companies and banks to wind down business in China and Hong Kong, including through more outreach and potentially more sanctions, the top two lawmakers on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said in a Dec. 19 letter to the White House and Treasury Department. Sens. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., and Jim Risch, R-Idaho, said that while they welcomed the March 2021 sanctions against 24 Chinese and Hong Kong officials for interfering in Hong Kong’s autonomy (see 2103170027), “we believe these actions have not gone far enough. More needs to be done to ensure that the [People’s Republic of China] understands the consequences of usurping democracy and sovereignty.”
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Menendez and Risch said the U.S. “must increase our outreach to the U.S. business community to ensure they understand that their participation” in Chinese business community events, such as Hong Kong Monetary Authority investment summit last month, “is legitimizing Beijing’s takeover of Hong Kong and bolstering the reputation and credibility of a government sanctioned by the United States for human rights abuses.”
The administration should use “all available tools authorized by that legislation and other acts of Congress to hold the PRC accountable for its actions in Hong Kong,” the letter said. “If further tools are needed, we stand ready to work with you in finding new avenues to support the people of Hong Kong.” The White House and Treasury didn’t comment.