WASHINGTON – The Biden government sanctioned two Chinese officials on Monday, citing their roles in serious human rights abuses against ethnic minorities in Xinjiang.
Wang Junzheng of China, secretary of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps Party Committee, and Chen Mingguo, director of the Xinjiang Department of Public Security, were punished for their connection to “arbitrary detention and serious physical abuse, among other serious abuses. of human rights targeting Uighurs, “the Treasury Department said in a statement on Monday.
The Treasury has accused China of using repressive tactics over the past five years against Uighurs and other members of ethnic minorities in the region, including mass arrests and surveillance.
“The targets of this surveillance are often detained and allegedly subjected to various methods of torture and” political re-education, “wrote the Treasury in a statement.
Beijing had previously rejected US accusations that it committed genocide against the Uighurs, a Muslim population native to the Uighur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang in northwest China.
“Amid growing international condemnation, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) continues to commit genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang,” said Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a statement. “We will continue to side with our allies around the world in calling for an immediate end to the crimes of the PRC and for justice for the many victims,” added the country’s top diplomat.
The Biden government sanctions complement actions now also taken by the European Union, the United Kingdom and Canada.
China also said that allegations of its use of detention camps are unfounded and that it instead uses facilities to provide vocational training to help eradicate Islamic extremism and separatism.
The sanctions come in the wake of a controversial meeting between Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan, and China’s top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, and state adviser Wang Yi in Alaska.
Before the talks, Blinken criticized the widespread use of “coercion and aggression” by China on the international stage and warned that the United States would back down if necessary.
“China uses coercion and aggression to systematically erode autonomy in Hong Kong, undermine democracy in Taiwan, abuse human rights in Xinjiang and Tibet and enforce maritime claims in the South China Sea that violate international law,” said Blinken at a press conference in Japan.
President Joe Biden, who spoke to Chinese President Xi Jinping last month, had previously said that his approach to China would be different from that of his predecessor, as he would work more closely with the allies to prepare a reaction against Beijing.
“We will face China’s economic abuses,” said Biden in a speech at the State Department, describing Beijing as the “most serious competitor” in the United States.
“But we are also ready to work with Beijing when it is in America’s interest to do so,” said Biden. “We will compete in a position of strength, rebuilding better at home and working with our allies and partners.”