Republican Senators Question DC Mayor Over ‘Sister City’ Agreement With Beijing

Washington and Beijing signed the agreement in 1984.

Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) speaks during the 2024 Republican National Committee meeting in Milwaukee, Wis., on July 15, 2024. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

A group of Republican senators is pressing District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser for answers about the city’s “sister city” partnership with Beijing, citing national security concerns.

Led by Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), the senators sent a letter to Bowser on Oct. 24, questioning why Beijing was removed from the city’s list of sister cities on its website in August, without any formal announcement. They asked the mayor whether the city’s sister city agreement “has been formally terminated or merely suspended.”