These observations encouraged traditional American allies and sparked anger in China, which has repeatedly asked the United States to abandon the confrontational approach. Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, and Blinken are expected to meet with top Chinese diplomats, Yang Jiechi and Wang Yi, in Alaska from Thursday.
A Foreign Ministry spokesman, Zhao Lijian, accused the United States of a “zero-sum mentality” that was “doomed to end up in the dustbin of history”.
“Those who wear colored lenses can easily lose sight of the right direction, and those who are rooted in the Cold War mentality will do harm to others and to themselves,” said Zhao on Monday.
The United States has already imposed sanctions against Chinese authorities under the Hong Kong Autonomy Act, which was passed by Congress and signed by Trump last year. Among other things, it authorizes the State Department to restrict designated employees from using American financial institutions.
Wang Chen, a veteran party leader who led the legislative changes adopted last week, is the highest Chinese official targeted so far. The Trump administration previously imposed sanctions on Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam, the chief of police and the secretary of justice.
The final impact on Chinese behavior has so far been minimal, but the latest assignments have significantly expanded the number of targeted employees.
In all, the latest American sanctions would affect 14 vice presidents of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, which recently concluded its annual meeting in Beijing, and officials from the National Security Division of the Hong Kong Police Force and the Office of Security Affairs. Hong Kong and the National Security Protection Office.