The U.S. Senate on Friday backed a plan to name a plaza in front of the Chinese Embassy for a pro-democracy dissident after what congressional sources called a tit-for-tat deal that led Sen. Ted Cruz to stop blocking President Barack Obama's diplomatic nominations.
By unanimous voice vote, the Senate approved a bill introduced by Cruz, a leading contender for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, to name the plaza in Washington after Liu Xiaobo, a Nobel Peace Prize winner.
"It's provocative and counterproductive. We strongly urge the U.S. side to stop such actions," Chinese Embassy spokesman Zhu Haiquan said in an emailed statement.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.