WASHINGTON, DC — on Wednesday, Senator Cory Gardner (R-CO), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific, and International Cybersecurity, released the below statement following his meeting with the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to the United States, Cui Tiankai:

“I held a meeting today with Ambassador Cui to have an open and frank exchange on how to move forward in bilateral relations between our nations,” said Senator Gardner. “I explained to Ambassador Cui that while it has always been the preference of the United States to have cordial and constructive ties with China, a range of Chinese behavior in recent years has fallen outside of international norms and now threatens to upend the US-led liberal world order that resulted in decades of peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific. We discussed actions such as China’s illegal militarization of the South China Sea, China’s worsening human rights record, and discriminatory trade practices that have disadvantaged American companies and displaced American workers. I reiterated the need to resolve our two country’s economic differences in a timely manner, consistent with the principles and timeframes laid out by President Trump and President Xi at the recent G20 Summit in Argentina, which would include China taking concrete steps to address the bilateral trade imbalance and ceasing discriminatory behaviors against American companies, such as forced technology transfer, intellectual property violations, and other market access restrictions.

“I also expressed to Ambassador Cui that the United States expects China to take additional steps to achieve complete, verifiable, irreversible denuclearization of North Korea, including more rigorous enforcement of multilateral sanctions against Pyongyang. I reiterated to Ambassador Cui that I welcome additional dialogue between our nations to peacefully resolve all outstanding disagreements, but Beijing must take the initiative and urgently change course. I will continue to use my position as Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations East Asia and Pacific Subcommittee to hold China accountable for its behavior.”

In 2018, Gardner has chaired a series of hearings in his subcommittee focused on China, titled “The China Challenge”, which discussed economic, security, and human rights concerns. Gardner traveled to China in August of 2015 and met with a range of PRC officials, including Foreign Minister Wang Yi. In September 2015, Gardner met with President Xi Jinping in the Senate, during President Xi’s visit to the United States.