Portman applauds State Department decision to demand greater reciprocity with China following PSI investigation

Statement

Today, U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) applauded the State Department decision to require Chinese diplomats to notify the State Department before any meetings with U.S. colleges or universities or with any local or state officials. Earlier this year, Portman and Senator Tom Carper (D-DE), the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), unveiled a bipartisan report that detailed China's one-sided treatment of key State Department diplomacy programs in China. The report described more than 80 instances where the Chinese government directly interfered with U.S. diplomacy efforts in China to engage with Chinese audiences. The report also included a key recommendation that the State Department demand "reciprocal and fair treatment of its diplomats and employees in China."

"China's persistent interference with U.S. public diplomacy efforts contradicts the important diplomatic principle of reciprocity that is recognized in international tradition and law," said Senator Portman. "I'm pleased that the U.S. State Department is now working to level the playing field with China on U.S. public diplomacy efforts. Our PSI report detailed instance after instance of the Chinese government interfering with U.S. visits, programs, and events throughout China. For too long the United States has modeled appropriate behavior in the hope that China will change. As we have learned to our disappointment, China will not change unless it sees its actions have consequences and this news is a positive first step."

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