China criticises E3 over Iran nuclear deal

China's foreign ministry on Wednesday criticized Britain, France and Germany for triggering a mechanism to force Iran back into nuclear discussions, saying the US was responsible for tensions. "The US unilaterally withdrew from the comprehensive agreement, ignored international law and international obligations, imposed extreme pressure on Iran, and prevented other parties from making good on their promise under the agreement," said Geng Shuang, a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. "That is the root cause of Iranian nuclear tension."

Britain, France and Germany on Tuesday ratcheted up pressure on Iran to stop violating its landmark nuclear deal in a last-ditch effort to resolve their differences through talks while also starting a process that could bring back punishing UN sanctions on Tehran. The three European Union countries are being pressed on one side by US President Donald Trump to abandon the agreement as he did unilaterally in 2018, and on the other side from Iran to provide enough economic incentives for them to roll back their violations. Now, the Europeans have reluctantly triggered the accord's dispute mechanism to force Iran into discussions, starting the clock on a process that could result in the "snapback" of UN and EU sanctions on Iran.

Geng defended China's human rights record, dismissing reports released by Human Rights Watch Wednesday as turning "a blind eye on facts". "The current human rights situation in China is in the best period of history," Geng said. The reports singled out China, focusing on its sweeping mass surveillance and detention campaign in the far western region of Xinjiang that has targeted ethnic and religious identity. Also Wednesday, Geng appealed to the UK to take a "fair attitude" as it mulls whether to allow Huawei to build its 5G telecommunications networks.

The US has been ratcheting up pressure on London to bar the Shenzhen-based telecommunications giant, calling it a national security threat. "The US has been generalizing the concept of national security and misusing its national power to oppress specific Chinese enterprise without evidence," said Geng. "This severely tarnishes the reputation and credibility of the US." Finally, Geng responded to comments by the newly-reelected President of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen, who said that Beijing must accept that Taiwan is "already independent." Without mentioning Tsai by name, Geng reiterated Beijing's stance that Taiwan is part of China. "Taiwan is an inalienable part of China and the one-China principle is the consensus of the international community," he said.

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