Sen. Tom Cotton Tom Bryant CottonThe Hill's 12:30 Report: Trump stokes fears over November election outcome The Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by Facebook - Trump previews SCOTUS nominee as 'totally brilliant' Abortion stirs GOP tensions in Supreme Court fight MORE (R-Ark.) told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt a crackdown by China on ongoing demonstrations in Hong Kong would be a “grave” mistake.

“[I]t would be a grave miscalculation of historic proportion for Beijing to crack down on Hong Kong, to invade Hong Kong territory with the People’s Armed Police, or to declare martial law that would require a fundamental reassessment of our relationship with the People’s Republic of China,” Cotton told Hewitt Tuesday.

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“I’m glad to see so many other of my peers in Congress have come around and stated this view publicly as well. And increasingly, we get indications from the administration, too,” he added.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Michael (Mike) Richard PompeoWatchdog confirms State Dept. canceled award for journalist who criticized Trump Trump's push for win with Sudan amps up pressure on Congress Putin nominated for Nobel Peace Prize MORE has expressed hopes that Beijing will “do the right thing” in response to the protests, while President Trump Donald John TrumpFederal prosecutor speaks out, says Barr 'has brought shame' on Justice Dept. Former Pence aide: White House staffers discussed Trump refusing to leave office Progressive group buys domain name of Trump's No. 1 Supreme Court pick MORE has been more noncommittal, calling Chinese President Xi Jinping a “good man” in a “tough business” and expressing confidence in Xi’s capacity to “quickly and humanely solve the Hong Kong problem.”

Asked by Hewitt if Trump had done enough to discourage a heavy-handed Chinese response to the demonstrations, Cotton said that while he didn’t want to comment on Trump’s private remarks, “we should reconsider in a fundamental way our relationship with Beijing should they crack down or impose martial law on Hong Kong.”

The protests began months ago over a since-suspended bill that would have allowed the extradition of criminal suspects to China. Carrie Lam, Hong Kong's chief executive, announced that she was suspending the bill, but broader pro-democracy protests have continued, with demonstrators calling for her resignation and an independent investigation into police brutality against protesters.

To apply pressure on Beijing, Cotton said the U.S. "ought to reconsider the kind of visas that we give to senior-level Chinese officials, or the number of Chinese nationals we allow into our universities. We could also just say simply that trade talks will no longer go forward and the tariffs will remain in place."

Cotton said similar steps should have been taken after the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.