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.