China Sanctions the UK Individuals and entities in response to the UK’s sanctions citing the Human Rights violation in Xinjiang.
The UK has for months resisted imposing sanctions such as travel bans and asset freezes against Chinese officials, but in the end acted this week in close coordination with the EU, Canada and the US to ensure the same four Chinese officials were targeted.
The Biden administration, in contrast to Donald Trump, is making the rebuilding of neglected diplomatic alliances against China in both the west and the Indo-Pacific the central feature of its foreign policy.
China’s very carefully calibrated countermeasures to the EU covered five members of the European Parliament, from four parties seen to be at the helm of the campaign about the human rights abuses in Xinjiang province.
Chinese foreign office has released a statement in which it declared that China will be imposing new sections on the UK lawmakers and entries. The full statement said as follows:
“The United Kingdom (UK) imposed unilateral sanctions on relevant Chinese individuals and entity, citing the so-called human rights issues in Xinjiang. This move, based on nothing but lies and disinformation, flagrantly breaches international law and basic norms governing international relations, grossly interferes in China’s internal affairs, and severely undermines China-UK relations.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry has summoned the British Ambassador to China to lodge solemn representations, expressing firm opposition and strong condemnation. The Chinese side decides to sanction the following nine individuals and four entities on the UK side that maliciously spread lies and disinformation: Tom Tugendhat, Iain Duncan Smith, Neil O’Brien, David Alton, Tim Loughton, Nusrat Ghani, Helena Kennedy, Geoffrey Nice, Joanne Nicola Smith Finley, China Research Group, Conservative Party Human Rights Commission, Uyghur Tribunal, Essex Court Chambers. As of today, the individuals concerned and their immediate family members are prohibited from entering the mainland, Hong Kong and Macao of China, their property in China will be frozen, and Chinese citizens and institutions will be prohibited from doing business with them. China reserves the right to take further measures.
China is firmly determined to safeguard its national sovereignty, security and development interests, and warns the UK side not to go further down the wrong path. Otherwise, China will resolutely make further reactions”.
China acted immediately against the EU after its foreign affairs council on Monday imposed sanctions on the same four Chinese officials and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps Public Security Bureau.
China had warned that the bloc was about to act, so may have prepared its countermeasures in advance.
By contrast, there had been no prior warning the UK was going to end its resistance to imposing sanctions over human rights abuses against Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang.
The EU ambassador to China was summoned on Monday. It is the first time the EU has imposed sanctions on China since 1984.
Source: The Guardian
