The Biden government sanctioned Chinese government officials on Monday for “serious human rights abuses” against ethnic minorities in the Uighur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang and warned that China will continue to face consequences if the “atrocities” continue.
The Treasury Department on Monday sanctioned two Chinese government officials in connection with human rights abuses – Wang Junzheng, secretary of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps party committee, and Chen Mingguo, director of the Department of Xinjiang Public Security.
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The United States is “committed to using the full breadth” of its financial powers to “promote accountability for the serious human rights abuses that take place in Xinjiang,” said the Treasury Department.
“Chinese authorities will continue to face the consequences as long as atrocities occur in Xinjiang,” said Andrea M. Gacki, director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control. “The Treasury is committed to promoting accountability for the Chinese government’s human rights abuses, including arbitrary detention and torture against Uighurs and other ethnic minorities.”
The Biden government’s actions on Monday complemented the actions also carried out by the European Union, the United Kingdom and Canada, which imposed sanctions on these and other individuals.
“The United States will continue to play a strong leadership role in global efforts to combat serious human rights abuses in Xinjiang and around the world through the Global Magnitsky sanctions program,” said the Treasury Department. “Complementary actions using these global human rights sanctions regimes allow partners with similar ideas to form a unified front to identify, promote accountability and interrupt access to the international financial system by those who abuse human rights.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday’s actions “demonstrate our continued commitment to working multilaterally to advance respect for human rights and enlighten the PRC and CPC leaders responsible for these atrocities.”
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Meanwhile, the White House said the government continues to “have serious concerns about crimes against humanity and China’s genocide” against Uighurs.
“This is a problem, and it was raised by the president in his conversation with the Chinese president a few weeks ago,” said White House press secretary Jan Psaki.
When asked whether the United States will impose more sanctions, Psaki said the sanctions “aim to stop the behavior”, but do not “rule out or rule out any actions” anytime soon in government.
“I can assure you that, obviously, we will be evaluating what are the appropriate next steps in close coordination with allies and partners around the world,” said Psaki, adding that the government is “certain that the Chinese are noticing that we are working much more closely. with allies and partners “than the previous administration.
The sanctions came after tense bilateral negotiations with Biden government officials and Chinese officials in Alaska last week.
The White House said the Biden government is ready to have a “frank conversation” with China and is negotiating from a “force” position.
During Thursday’s meeting, Blinken said the Biden government is united with its allies to fight China’s growing authoritarianism and assertiveness at home and abroad. Chinese Communist Party head of foreign affairs Yang Jiechi released a list of Chinese complaints about the United States and accused Washington of hypocrisy for criticizing Beijing on human rights and other issues.
Ties between the U.S. and China have been severed for years, and the Biden government has yet to signal whether it is ready or willing to back down from the hard-line positions taken under Donald Trump.
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The day before the meeting, Blinken announced new sanctions against Beijing’s crackdown on democracy advocates in Hong Kong. In response, China intensified its rhetoric by opposing US interference in domestic affairs and complained directly about it.
Trump prided himself on establishing what he considered a strong relationship with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. But the relationship disintegrated after the coronavirus pandemic spread from Wuhan province to the world and unleashed an economic and public health disaster.
Rich Edson of Fox News and the Associated Press contributed to this report.