Xi administration sanctions Trump's 'anti-China hawks'; calls them 'clowns of US politics'

China's Communist government on Monday announced that it will impose sanctions on a group of US politicians, including senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, in response to US sanctions which take aim at Beijing's treatment of Uighur Muslims and other minorities.

'Clowns of US politics'

CCP's mouthpiece Global Times on Thursday quoting "US observers" said that some of the American politicians are joining Mike Pompeo to push China and the US to the brink of a 'clear rupture' adding that these "anti-China US hawks" are not only notorious in China but also despised by many US progressives.

"The targeted individuals and groups are seen as the clowns of US politics for their far-right views on domestic affairs and meddling in international issues," the mouthpiece added without naming any of the observers. It alleged that Senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz are typical backers of the recent anti-China campaign led by the US.

'China strongly condemns this'

China's Foreign Ministry on Monday announced sanctions against the US Congressional-Executive Commission on China, Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom Samuel Brownback, US Senators Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz and Republican Representative Chris Smith, following US sanctions on Chinese officials over the Xinjiang issue. 

"The US practice severely interferes in China's internal affairs, violates basic norms governing international relations and damages China-US relations. China firmly opposes and strongly condemns this," said Hua Chunying, China's foreign affairs spokesperson at a press conference.

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"It must be stressed that Xinjiang affairs are purely China's internal affairs. The US has no right and no cause to interfere in them," she added.

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US-China's 'severely damaged' relations

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has called on China to immediately stop forced sterilisation of Uighur Muslims after reports of coercive family planning emerged. On June 17, Trump signed “Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020” into law which condemns gross human rights violations of the ethnic Muslim minority groups in the Xinjiang region in China.

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The relations between the two countries have deteriorated as the US has taken a number of measures against China. Trump has recently said that his administration is mulling over the US-China trade deal amid tensed relations with Beijing. He had been blaming China since the outbreak of Coronavirus and has pulled out from the World Health Organisation (WHO), citing its bias towards China.

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