By: Jianli Yang – February 15, 2021
In January, within moments of President Biden’s swearing-in, China announced the imposition of sanctions against senior officials from the outgoing Trump administration. These sanctions were imposed against 28 individuals — and their families, by extension— who allegedly have “seriously violated China’s sovereignty and who have been mainly responsible for such U.S. moves on China-related issues.” China also lashed out against the European Union for a resolution passed by European Parliament against China’s crackdown on Hong Kong, deriding them to “face up to the reality that Hong Kong has returned to China.”
Retaliatory sanctions against individuals from the U.S. have a precedence; China placed similar restrictions on U.S. citizens in July and August 2020, largely in response to Washington’s imposition of sanctions against Chinese officials accused of curtailing political freedoms in Hong Kong. According to Bloomberg, the latest iteration brings the total number of U.S. citizens sanctioned by China to 44. [Continue Reading]
Source: https://thehill.com/opinion/international/538557-are-former-trump-officials-in-hot-water-or-are-chinas-sanctions-just