China has imposed sanctions on 28 Trump-era officials, including Mike Pompeo
Beijing … News Time
China has imposed sanctions on outgoing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and 27 other top officials in the Donald Trump administration, accusing them of “lying and cheating” and saying he wants to cooperate with US President Joe Biden’s new administration. According to foreign news agency Reuters, the move is a sign of China’s anger, especially in response to Mike Pompeo’s accusations of genocide against his Uighur Muslims in the last days of his presidency. This view of China is also shared by Anthony Blinken, who was chosen by Biden to replace Mike Pompeo. Denying its ties to Washington under Trump, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced the sanctions in a statement while President Joe Biden was taking the oath of office. The statement said Mike Pompeo and others planned, promoted and carried out a number of foolish measures that interfered in China’s internal affairs and hurt China’s interests, angering the Chinese people. Gaya and Sino-US relations were severely damaged.
Other former Trump officials facing sanctions include trade Chief Peter Navarro, national security advisers Robert O’Brien and John Bolton, and health secretary Alex Azar. They include Kelly Craft, the US ambassador, and Steve Bannon, a former aide to Trump. 28 Former officials and their families will be barred from entering mainland China, Hong Kong or Macau, and their affiliates will be barred from doing business with China.
Brian O’Toole, an Atlantic Council think tank sanctions expert, saw China’s move as retaliation and a “political statement.” “I doubt they will default on more applications on a case-by-case basis than on any explicit restrictions,” he said. A spokesman for US President Joe Biden’s National Security Council said China’s move to impose sanctions on former Trump administration officials was “unproductive and reprehensible” and was condemned by Americans on both sides. Biden’s National Security Council spokeswoman Emily Horne told Reuters in a statement that the sanctions were “apparently an attempt to divide.” He said Americans on both sides should condemn the unproductive and despicable move, adding that President Joe Biden, along with leaders on both sides, was looking forward to putting the United States in a position to compete with China.
China imposed sanctions on US lawmakers last year, but the targeting of former and outgoing US officials was an unusual expression of hatred. Mike Pompeo said on Tuesday that China had committed genocide and crimes against humanity against Uighur Muslims, while Anthony Blinken said he agreed. He said that forcing men, women and children into concentration camps, trying to re-educate them to follow the ideology of the Chinese Communist Party, was an attempt at genocide. China has repeatedly denied allegations about its Xinjiang region, where a UN panel says at least one million Uighurs and other Muslims are being held in camps. In response to Xinjiang’s allegations, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in a media briefing that Mike Pompeo had told many lies in recent years and that it was just another lie for China to face but nothing.
