One Republican senator is pressing the secretary of state to hold China’s communist regime accountable for its human rights violations during an upcoming trip to Beijing.
Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) issued a letter (pdf) to Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Jan. 31, asking Blinken to “make defending the oppressed a defining focus” of his planned trip to China.
Blinken is expected to visit China in early February, marking the first time a secretary of state has visited the communist-controlled country since 2018.
Lankford said that he sent the letter because he was afraid that the Biden administration’s desire for increased trade and enhanced climate policies might overshadow its commitment to hold the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) accountable for its numerous atrocities….