China imposes sanction on Trump-era officials, including Pompeo

Pompeo and the others had “planned, promoted and executed a series of crazy moves, gravely interfered in China’s internal affairs, undermined China’s interests, offended the Chinese people, and seriously disrupted China-US relations,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.

The other outgoing and former Trump officials sanctioned included trade chief Peter Navarro, National Security Advisers Robert O’Brien and John Bolton, Health Secretary Alex Azar, UN ambassador Kelly Craft and former top Trump aide Steve Bannon.

The 28 ex-officials and immediate family members would be banned from entering mainland China, Hong Kong or Macao, and companies and institutions associated with them restricted from doing business with China.

“Imposing these sanctions on Inauguration Day is seemingly an attempt to play to partisan divides,” Biden’s National Security Council spokeswoman Emily Horne said.

“Americans of both parties should criticise this unproductive and cynical move. President Biden looks forward to working with leaders in both parties to position America to out-compete China,” Horne said.

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China has imposed sanctions on US lawmakers in the past year, but targeting so many former and outgoing US officials on Inauguration Day was an unusual expression of disdain.

Pompeo, who unleashed a barrage of measures against Beijing in his final weeks in office, announced on Tuesday that the Trump administration had determined that China had committed “genocide and crimes against humanity” against Uighur Muslims.

Blinken said on Tuesday he agreed with Pompeo’s genocide assessment.

“The forcing of men, women and children into concentration camps; trying to, in effect, re-educate them to be adherents to the ideology of the Chinese Communist Party, all of that speaks to an effort to commit genocide,” Blinken said.

China has repeatedly rejected accusations of abuse in its western Xinjiang region, where a United Nations panel has said at least 1 million Uighurs and other Muslims had been detained in camps.

Responding to the Xinjiang allegations, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a media briefing: “Pompeo has made so many lies in recent years, and this is just another bold-faced lie.”

“This US politician is notorious for lying and cheating, is making himself a laughing stock and a clown,” she said.

Hua said China hoped “the new administration will work together with China in the spirit of mutual respect, properly handle differences and conduct more win-win cooperation in more sectors.”

“We hope the new US administration can have their own reasonable and cool-minded judgment on Xinjiang issues, among other issues.”

Reuters