China announced on Wednesday it would slap sanctions on outgoing U.S. Secretary of State
Mike Pompeo, and 27 other top officials under Donald Trump. The Chinese foreign
ministry announced the sanctions around the time of U.S. President Joe Biden's
inauguration and said it would work to cooperate with Biden's new administration. But a
spokeswoman for Biden's National Security Council on Wednesday called the sanctions quote
"unproductive and cynical" and "an attempt to play to partisan divides," urging both
Republicans and Democrats to condemn the action. In its statement, the Chinese foreign
ministry said Pompeo and others had quote "gravely interfered in China's internal affairs,
undermined China's interests, offended the Chinese people, and seriously disrupted
China-U.S. relations." The move reflected China's anger over an accusation Pompeo made
on his final day in office, that China had committed genocide against Uighur Muslims in its
Xinjiang region. Biden's Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, said Tuesday he agreed with that
assessment. Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying dismissed Pompeo's
allegations Wednesday, calling him a "laughingstock" and a "clown." The sanctions come
after Trump imposed sanctions on Chinese officials and companies for alleged misdeeds in
the South China Sea. The 28 ex-officials and their immediate family members being
sanctioned also include trade chief Peter Navarro, National Security Advisers
Robert O'Brien and John Bolton, Health Secretary Alex Azar, U.N. ambassador Kelly Craft
and former top Trump aide Steve Bannon. The sanctions bar them from entering mainland
China, Hong Kong or Macao, and companies associated with them would be restricted
from doing business with China.
China has repeatedly rejected accusations of abuse in Xinjiang, where a United Nations
panel has estimated at least 1 million ethnic Uighurs and other Muslims have been detained
in camps.
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