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China Issues Retaliatory Sanctions On The European Union and U.S. Allies

China Sanciones

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The Chinese Communist Party issued sanctions against individuals and entities of the European Union. Among those sanctioned was Leopoldo López Gil, father of Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo López, who is a member of the European Union’s human rights subcommittee.

The European Union’s human rights subcommittee, the Political and Security Committee of the Council of the European Union, among other organizations, were also sanctioned by China.

According to the press release of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “The individuals concerned and their families are prohibited from entering the mainland, Hong Kong and Macao of China. They and companies and institutions associated with them are also restricted from doing business with China.”

China - Leopoldo López Gil - Sanctions - El American
Leopoldo López Gil is a Member of the European Parliament and of its human rights subcommittee, which has been sanctioned by the Chinese Communist Party. (Efe)

In addition, Reinhard Butikofer, Michael Gahler, Raphaël Glucksmann, Ilhan Kyuchyuk and Miriam Lexmann members of the European Parliament, Sjoerd Wiemer Sjoerdsma of the Dutch Parliament, Samuel Cogolati of the Belgian Federal Parliament, and civilians such as Adrian Zenz received the same sanction by the Chinese authorities.

China and Russia unite against the West as Xi Jinping gives support to Kim Jong Un

Following the failure of the Chinese Communist Party’s lobbying of the meeting with American diplomats in Alaska, Beijing has strengthened its alliances with Russia and North Korea.

In a joint statement, Beijing and Moscow defended their right to choose their own development path. They accused the United States of forming a Cold War-like alliance and rejected Western sanctions linked to human rights in Xinjiang as political interference in their internal affairs.

“All countries should firmly uphold the international system with the United Nations at its core, and an international order that is based on international law,” said the Beijing statement.

Canciller ruso Sergei Lavrov (izq.) Y al canciller de chino Wang Yi (der.) Posando durante una ceremonia de firma. después de sus conversaciones en Guilin, China, el 23 de marzo de 2021. (Efe)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (L) and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) pose during a signing ceremony after their talks in Guilin, China, March 23, 2021. (Efe)

For his part, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that both Moscow and Beijing “considered American President Joe Biden’s multilateral foreign policy to be detrimental to the existing world order.”

“We noted the destructive nature of U.S. intentions, relying on the military-political alliances of the Cold War era and creating new closed alliances in the same spirit, to undermine the U.N.-centered international legal architecture,” Lavrov said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping for his part expressed solidarity with the North Korean regime following the political and military strategies of South Korea, Japan and the United States outlined in Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s tour of Asia in mid-March 2021.

The Chinese leader told North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that “Beijing will work to maintain peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula”.

Kim Jong Un, responded to Xi that “North Korea is eager to strengthen ties with China and that its friendly relations will develop in accordance with the requirements of the times and its aspirations.”

The leaders’ comments were exchanged at a meeting on Monday, March 22, 2021, with the arrival of North Korea’s new ambassador to China. Pyongyang is seeking to strengthen its diplomatic ties in Asia following the break in relations between the communist dictatorship and Malaysia.

North Korea closed its embassy in Kuala Lumpur and its diplomats left Malaysia over the extradition of Mun Chol Myong to the United States on money laundering charges.

North Korea’s Charge d’Affaires to Malaysia Kim Yu Song read out a statement of displeasure with Malaysia for being “subservient” to the U.S.

“Not content with putting our innocent citizen in the dock by blindly favoring the U.S., the main enemy of our state, the Malaysian authority handed over our citizen thus destroying the basis of bilateral relations based on respect for sovereignty,” Kim Yu Song said.

China sanctioned again for human rights violations

The United States, United Kingdom and Canada joined the European Union in announcing asset freezes and travel bans on Chinese officials in response to the crackdown on China’s Uyghur Muslim minority in Xinjiang.

In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of America, the United Kingdom and Canada, the governments expressed “deep and continuing concern regarding China’s human rights violations and abuses in Xinjiang.”

The European Union added to its blacklist four Chinese Communist Party members and a party organization in Xinjiang accused of engaging in “large-scale arbitrary detentions” and other abuses. The United Kingdom sanctioned four Chinese officials and the United States sanctioned two.

Camilo Bello is a consultant focused on Asia Pacific studies and has experience in strategic management. He has studied law in Colombia and is currently pursuing studies in language and history at National Taiwan Normal University. He has collaborated with Students for Freedom in Hong Kong and Taiwan // Camilo es consultor enfocado en estudios de Asia Pacífico y experiencia en gestión estratégica. Cuenta con estudios en Derecho en Colombia y actualmente se encuentra realizando estudios en lenguaje e historia en National Taiwan Normal University. Colaborador de Estudiantes por la Libertad en Hong Kong y Taiwán

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