A group of Republican senators is demanding answers from Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser over a “sister city” deal with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to create a “partnership” between the U.S. capital and Beijing, China.
Senate Republicans are warning that such relationships can be exploited by the CCP to influence U.S. institutions.
The senators raised concerns in a letter, led by Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and sent to Bowser on October 24.
The letter questions why Beijing was quietly removed from the District’s list of sister cities in August without any public explanation.
Lawmakers asked whether the agreement “has been formally terminated or merely suspended.”
“Given the national security implications, we believe it is important to ensure that all formal and informal agreements between U.S. and foreign municipalities are not exploited by foreign governments—particularly the People’s Republic of China—as vehicles to advance soft-power objectives, disseminate propaganda, or suppress dissenting voices,” the senators wrote.
Although the District’s website no longer lists Beijing as a sister city, Sister Cities International, a U.S. nonprofit organization, still includes the two capitals as partners in its directory.
The senators requested that Bowser’s office provide copies of “any current or past agreements, contracts, or memoranda of understanding” with any Chinese government entity, including Beijing.
They also asked whether the mayor’s office is reviewing other international partnerships “to ensure mitigation against potential risks.”
“We are certain you share our commitment to protecting U.S. communities from potential foreign influence and safeguarding American interests,” the lawmakers said.
Joining Blackburn on the letter were Sens. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Rick Scott (R-FL), Ted Budd (R-NC), and Tom Cotton (R-AR).
“Communist China weaponizes its more than 150 sister-city relationships in the United States, including their relationship with our nation’s capital,” Cotton wrote on X.
“Mayors should think long and hard before signing these agreements, and should be transparent about what they entail.”
Communist China weaponizes its more than 150 sister-city relationships in the United States, including their relationship with our nation’s capital. Mayors should think long and hard before signing these agreements, and should be transparent about what they entail. https://t.co/T9Am9s17VX
— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) October 24, 2025
In a statement, Bowser’s office confirmed that Washington’s sister-city agreement with Beijing expired in 2017, though it did not elaborate on whether the relationship would be formally dissolved.
CCP Expansion and Growing Scrutiny
China’s communist regime has aggressively pushed to expand sister-city relationships across the United States.
Speaking at the U.S.–China Sister Cities Summit in Tacoma, Washington, in July 2024, Chinese Ambassador Xie Feng urged the creation of more partnerships, touting the existing network of 286 sister-city arrangements as a key tool for “people-to-people” engagement.
Lawmakers say that’s precisely the problem. Republicans on Capitol Hill argue that these programs, originally intended to promote cultural exchange, are now serving as soft-power instruments for CCP propaganda, espionage, and economic coercion.
In June, Rep. John Moolenaar (R-MI), chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, led House Republicans in urging Bowser to end Washington’s partnership with Beijing entirely.
Moolenaar noted that the original 1984 agreement was signed “based on the hope that the CCP might change for the better.”
He said this hope was “crushed” by the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre.
Continuing such partnerships, the lawmakers wrote, “would be at odds with American values” and would legitimize “a regime actively working against those principles.”
In July, Moolenaar and other House Republicans introduced the District of Columbia Sister City Integrity Act, which would require the capital to terminate sister-city agreements with jurisdictions in “foreign adversary” countries, specifically China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea.
Blackburn introduced the Senate version of the same bill later that month.
Pushing for Transparency
Blackburn and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) also introduced the Sister City Transparency Act in April, requiring the Government Accountability Office to investigate U.S.–foreign sister-city programs for oversight failures and risks of CCP exploitation.
When the bill was first introduced in 2021, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) was among its original cosponsors.
“Beijing has a history of conducting its malign activities by exploiting cultural and economic partnerships,” Rubio said in a 2021 statement.
“This means that sister city partnerships require further scrutiny.
“I look forward to working with my colleagues across the aisle to pass this bill, which will provide greater transparency on the CCP’s ongoing efforts to conduct influence operations in the U.S.”
As Congress increases pressure to unwind local ties to Beijing, the fate of D.C.’s partnership remains unclear.
For now, the city’s relationship with the Chinese capital may be dormant, but for lawmakers focused on national security, dormant is not enough.
READ MORE – Trump Admin Urges World Bank, IMF to Crack Down on China Amid Trade War
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