The Obama administration cannot meekly “raise” human rights concerns when it is increasingly clear that our security and economic interests with China cannot be ensured without dramatic human rights improvements and advances in the rule of law.

In addition to a nuclear North Korea, economic slowdowns, and strained relations with China’s neighbors, Mr. Xi has also presided over an extraordinary assault on the rule of law, human rights, religious freedom and civil society. The scope of Mr. Xi’s repression is immense, with more arrests, censorship and control now than at any time since Chairman Mao ruled China.

Under his leadership, the Chinese government has pushed through new laws and drafted legislation that would legitimize and further curtail civil liberties and civil society and expand censorship of the Internet.

President Xi’s shift toward a hard authoritarianism is a disturbing development. More than any time in recent memory, China is becoming a garrison state, with security forces empowered to silence dissent and drive a wedge between the Chinese people and the international community. These facts have real strategic and diplomatic consequences.

The Obama administration cannot continue to engage in the fantasy that avoiding human rights will somehow bring about a change of heart in Beijing. The U.S. administration must raise human rights because U.S. interests and better U.S.-China relations depend on it.

A government that does not respect the rights and basic dignity of its own people cannot be assumed to be a responsible actor in the global arena. A government that brutally crushes the yearning of its citizens for fundamental freedoms cannot be a trusted partner able to work on a number of pressing bilateral and global issues.

Human rights concerns are vital to furthering the safety and protection of our private citizens and businesses.