Title: True Reciprocity Act of 2021
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
True Reciprocity Act of 2021
This bill directs the Department of State to report to Congress on how China's government creates barriers to the work of U.S. diplomats, officials, journalists, businesses, and nongovernmental organizations in China. The report shall include assessments of (1) the impact of Chinese government sanctions on U.S. nonprofit organizations, (2) the Chinese government's treatment of U.S. citizens and whether such treatments adhere to international agreements related to due process, and (3) activities that the Chinese government and affiliated entities are allowed to conduct in the United States but that are denied to U.S. entities in China.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1215 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1215

    To state the policy of the United States regarding the need for 
   reciprocity in the relationship between the United States and the 
          People's Republic of China, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 19, 2021

Mr. Sullivan (for himself and Mr. Van Hollen) introduced the following 
  bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign 
                               Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To state the policy of the United States regarding the need for 
   reciprocity in the relationship between the United States and the 
          People's Republic of China, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``True Reciprocity Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) In a number of areas, the relationship between the 
        United States and the People's Republic of China is not fair, 
        equal, or reciprocal.
            (2) The Government of the People's Republic of China 
        requires diplomats, Members of Congress, and other officials of 
        the United States to obtain approval before admittance into the 
        People's Republic of China and sometimes denies the entry of 
        those individuals. Officials of the United States are very 
        restricted with respect to where they can travel and with whom 
        they can meet in the People's Republic of China.
            (3) The Government of the United States requires diplomats 
        of the People's Republic of China to notify the Department of 
        State of their travel and meeting plans, and the Government of 
        the United States sometimes requires such diplomats to obtain 
        approval from the Department of State while traveling in the 
        United States. However, when such approval is required, it is 
        almost always granted expeditiously, and diplomats of the 
        People's Republic of China are not restricted with respect to 
        where they can travel or with whom they can meet in the United 
        States.
            (4) Diplomats of the People's Republic of China based in 
        the United States generally avail themselves of the freedom to 
        travel to cities in the United States and lobby city councils, 
        mayors, and governors to refrain from passing resolutions, 
        issuing proclamations, or making statements critical of the 
        Government of the People's Republic of China.
            (5) According to the 2020 Integrated Country Strategy of 
        the Department of State on the People's Republic of China, 
        ``Chinese law enforcement and security services employ extra-
        judicial means against U.S. citizens without regard to 
        international norms, including the Vienna Consular Convention 
        and the 1980 U.S.-China Bilateral Consular Convention. These 
        means include broad travel prohibitions, known as `exit bans,' 
        which are sometimes used to prevent U.S. citizens who are not 
        themselves suspected of a crime from leaving China as a means 
        to pressure their relatives or associates who are wanted by 
        Chinese law enforcement in the United States.''. The Department 
        of State also stated that ``Chinese officials also arbitrarily 
        detain and interrogate U.S. citizens for reasons related to 
        `state security' . . . [and] the Chinese criminal justice 
        system often subjects U.S. citizens to overly lengthy pre-trial 
        detention in substandard conditions while investigations are 
        ongoing''.
            (6) The People's Republic of China is considered one of the 
        least free countries to operate in as a journalist, ranked 177 
        out of 180 in the 2020 World Press Freedom Index published by 
        Reporters Without Borders, above Eritrea, North Korea, and 
        Turkmenistan.
            (7) According to Freedom House's 2020 ``Freedom of the 
        Net'' annual report, the People's Republic of China was ranked 
        the world's worst abuser of internet freedoms for the sixth 
        consecutive year with censorship and surveillance ``pushed to 
        unprecedented extremes''.
            (8) The Government of the People's Republic of China 
        restricts the movement of journalists from the United States 
        and journalists representing United States media outlets by 
        denying entry into the People's Republic of China, issuing 
        short visas, and restricting access to people and places unless 
        prior approval is received.
            (9) The Government of the United States generally allows 
        journalists, diplomats, and other citizens of the People's 
        Republic of China to travel freely within the United States, 
        including on college and university campuses and in the halls 
        of Congress.
            (10) The Government of the People's Republic of China 
        either directly or indirectly funds Confucius Institutes and 
        Confucius Classrooms operated on campuses of institutions of 
        higher education in the United States and in K-12 public school 
        districts, but similar institutes funded by the Government of 
        the United States are prohibited in the People's Republic of 
        China.
            (11) In April 2016, the Government of the People's Republic 
        of China enacted legislation stating that foreign 
        nongovernmental organizations operating in the mainland of the 
        People's Republic of China and in special administrative 
        regions of the People's Republic of China would be subjected to 
        supervision by the Government of the People's Republic of 
        China, and, in December 2019, the Government of the People's 
        Republic of China announced that it would be imposing sanctions 
        on nonprofit organizations based in the United States, 
        including the National Endowment for Democracy, Human Rights 
        Watch, Freedom House, the National Democratic Institute, and 
        the International Republican Institute, even if those 
        organizations do not operate in the mainland of the People's 
        Republic of China or in special administrative regions of the 
        People's Republic of China.
            (12) When the People's Republic of China joined the World 
        Trade Organization in 2001, the People's Republic of China 
        promised that it would liberalize economically, but, through 
        state mercantilism, has created a severely imbalanced trading 
        relationship with the United States, requiring forced transfers 
        of intellectual property and imposing joint venture 
        requirements and nontariff barriers.
            (13) The People's Republic of China provides massive 
        subsidies for agriculture, fishery, aluminum and steel, and 
        technology manufacturing industries that distort domestic and 
        global competition in favor of Chinese businesses and at the 
        expense of market access for United States companies. These 
        distortionary policies harm United States companies, workers, 
        and consumers.
            (14) The People's Republic of China uses multiple tools, 
        including caps on foreign equity ownership, data localization, 
        and other administrative procedures, to coerce foreign 
        companies to transfer technology as a precondition for market 
        access. These policies pose immediate and far-reaching 
        challenges for United States companies and limit market access 
        for United States products and services.
            (15) The People's Republic of China's internet and online 
        restrictions hamper the operations of United States businesses 
        in the People's Republic of China, and certain United States 
        technology companies are effectively banned from doing business 
        in the People's Republic of China.

SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

    It is the policy of the United States--
            (1) to clearly differentiate, in official statements, media 
        communications, and messaging, between--
                    (A) the people and culture of the People's Republic 
                of China; and
                    (B) the Government of the People's Republic of 
                China and the Communist Party of China;
            (2) that any negotiations toward a trade agreement with the 
        People's Republic of China should be concluded in a manner that 
        addresses unfair trading practices by the People's Republic of 
        China;
            (3) that such an agreement should, to the extent possible--
                    (A) ensure that the People's Republic of China 
                commits to structural changes in its trade and economic 
                policies;
                    (B) hold the People's Republic of China accountable 
                to those commitments; and
                    (C) promote access to reciprocal direct investment; 
                and
            (4) to seek and develop a relationship with the People's 
        Republic of China that is founded on the principles of basic 
        reciprocity across sectors, including economic, diplomatic, 
        educational, and communications sectors.

SEC. 4. REPORT ON THE MANNER IN WHICH THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA 
              PERPETUATES NONRECIPROCAL RELATIONS WITH THE UNITED 
              STATES.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the 
Secretary of Commerce, the United States Trade Representative, and the 
Secretary of the Treasury, shall submit to the appropriate 
congressional committees a report on the manner in which the Government 
of the People's Republic of China creates barriers to the work of 
United States diplomats and other officials, journalists, and 
businesses, and nongovernmental organizations based in the United 
States, in the People's Republic of China.
    (b) Elements.--The report required by subsection (a) shall include 
the following:
            (1) A summary of obstacles that United States diplomats and 
        other officials, journalists, and businesses encounter when 
        attempting to work in the People's Republic of China.
            (2) A summary of the obstacles Chinese diplomats and other 
        officials, journalists, and businesses encounter while working 
        in the United States.
            (3) A description of the efforts that officials of the 
        United States have made to rectify any differences in the 
        treatment of diplomats and other officials, journalists, and 
        businesses by the United States and by the People's Republic of 
        China, and the results of those efforts.
            (4) An assessment of the impact of the sanctions announced 
        by the Government of the People's Republic of China in December 
        2019 on nonprofit organizations based in the United States, 
        including the National Endowment for Democracy, Human Rights 
        Watch, Freedom House, the National Democratic Institute, and 
        the International Republican Institute, even if those 
        organizations do not operate in the mainland of the People's 
        Republic of China or in special administrative regions of the 
        People's Republic of China.
            (5) An assessment of the adherence of the Government of the 
        People's Republic of China, in its treatment of United States 
        citizens, to due process and the norms of--
                    (A) the Convention on Consular Relations, done at 
                Vienna April 24, 1963, and entered into force March 19, 
                1967 (21 UST 77); and
                    (B) the Consular Convention, signed at Washington 
                September 17, 1980, and entered into force February 19, 
                1982, between the United States and the People's 
                Republic of China.
            (6) A summary of the adherence of the People's Republic of 
        China to its international commitments to the World Trade 
        Organization.
            (7) An assessment of lack of reciprocity between the United 
        States and the People's Republic of China with respect to 
        market access and the impacts of the People's Republic of 
        China's internet restrictions.
            (8) A description of activities and investments that the 
        Government of the People's Republic of China or entities 
        affiliated with that Government are able to conduct in the 
        United States and that are denied to United States entities in 
        the People's Republic of China.
            (9) Recommendations on efforts that the Government of the 
        United States could undertake to improve reciprocity in the 
        relationship between the United States and the People's 
        Republic of China, specifically regarding parity in the areas 
        of diplomatic and market access.
    (c) Form of Report; Availability.--
            (1) Form.--The report required by subsection (a) shall be 
        submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified 
        index.
            (2) Availability.--The unclassified portion of the report 
        required by subsection (a) shall be posted on a publicly 
        available internet website of the Department of State.
    (d) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In this section, 
the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means the Committee 
on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
of the House of Representatives.

SEC. 5. RECIPROCITY DEFINED.

    In this Act, the term ``reciprocity'' means the mutual exchange of 
privileges between governments, countries, businesses, or individuals.
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