US commission calls it ‘essential’ for Donald Trump to express support for human rights and democracy in China

An influential US commission that advises Congress and the government on policy towards China has called on the Trump administration to make Beijing’s human rights record a cornerstone of all interactions with the country – including negotiations over trade.

The Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), an inter-agency body set up by Congress 20 years ago, made the recommendation in its annual report, which found that 2019 saw a continued deterioration in human rights and the rule of law in China.

In a 323-page blistering critique of the state of civil liberties in China – ranging from religious freedoms and labour rights to access to justice and public health services – the commission said that members of both Congress and the administration should regularly meet with Chinese civil society and human rights advocates.

“It is also essential that the President of the United States express support for human rights and democracy in China,” said the report, addressed to US President Donald Trump and Congress and released on Wednesday morning in Washington.

“I think this administration can do better on human rights,” Representative James McGovern, chair of the CECC, said during a briefing on the report on Wednesday. “I think the president can do better.”

The commission called on US government officials, including those “engaged in trade negotiations”, to press their Chinese counterparts on matters relating to freedom of expression and to make the case that censorship harms both US and Chinese interests.