The House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill banning business banks with Chinese officials involved in tightening pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong.
The bill, which is similar to the measure passed by the Senate last week, is expected to be passed by the Senate before President Donald Trump can sign it. This opportunity comes Thursday.
The move was a response to the Chinese government's imposition of stringent new national security legislation for Hong Kong, and many lawmakers said the move violated the government's promise to respect the autonomy of the former British colony. China has described security law as a "sword of the Damocles," which hangs over its most ardent critics.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made a special appearance at the House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on Wednesday, saying that the new law represents "the death of one country and two systems" and that China is following up on Hong Kong.
“The law is a brutal and comprehensive act on the people of Hong Kong, which is destroying that freedom,” Pelosi said.
According to two people familiar with the case, the Trump administration is preparing long-standing sanctions against Muslims in Xinjiang for punishing senior Chinese officials for human rights violations.
The sanctions have been delayed under the Global Magnetsky Human Rights Accountability Act 2016 amid talks on the US-China trade deal. As Trump blames China for the coronavirus pandemic, tensions have grown between the two largest economies as members of both parties of Congress pressed the Beijing government for trade and human rights.
Both warned that Trump would still have to sign the final for any sanctions to continue. In the past, they have lifted sanctions because of fears or delays that they could jeopardize trade talks or increase their ties with other leaders such as Chinese President Xi Jinping.
A slightly revised House bill from the Senate version, sponsored by Pennsylvania Republican Senator Pat Tommy and Maryland Democrat Chris Van Hollen, has been replaced by a procedural stalemate, requiring all income-generating bills to occur.
Separately, Republicans on Wednesday added a clause to the House Democrats' $ 1.5 trillion infrastructure bill that would prevent Chinese companies linked to the Uyghur concentration camps in Xinjiang from flowing money.
Democratic leaders have urged party lawmakers to vote against Republican procedural amendments, but three dozen members of a weak swing district have broken ranks in support of it.
The $ 1.5 trillion bills was announced dead from House Democrats who did not plan to fund the arrival of the Republican Senate, so the Uighur amendment is largely symbolic. However, this is the seventh time that Pelosi has not been able to prevent its members from blaming the Republican proposal during this congress.
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