BEIJING: China bristled Tuesday after western nations lined up to impose sanctions over its crackdown on Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang, the first concerted international action against Beijing since Joe Biden took office.
Rights groups believe at least one million Uighurs and other mostly Muslim minorities have been incarcerated in camps in the northwestern region, where China is also accused of forcibly sterilising women and imposing forced labour.
Beijing has strongly denied the allegations and says training programmes, work schemes and better education have helped stamp out extremism in the region.
On Monday, the EU, Britain and Canada blacklisted four former and current officials in the Xinjiang region, while Washington, which had already sanctioned two of those officials in July 2020, added the other pair to the list.
New Zealand and Australia on Tuesday welcomed the measures, but both stopped short of introducing their own on China, a major export market for their goods.
Beijing snapped back immediately, announcing entry bans on 10 Europeans — including five members of the European Parliament — as well as two EU bodies and two think-tanks.
The head of the European Union delegation to China was summoned by the foreign ministry as Beijing went into attack mode, accusing the West of “lies” and “fabrications” over Xinjiang and downplaying the impact of the co-ordinated action.
“Frankly… we are not worried at all,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters.
“We urge others not to underestimate the firm will of the Chinese people to defend their national interests and national dignity,” she said, adding those who do “will eventually pay for their stupidity and arrogance.”
Still, the unified move to sanction the officials signalled a possible watershed in the diplomatic approach towards China.
Britain’s foreign ministry said the sanctions were “the clearest possible signal that the international community is united in its condemnation of China’s human rights violations in Xinjiang.”
Under Biden’s new administration Washington has cajoled allies to come together against Beijing, with abuses in Xinjiang the first — and sorest — of a range of sticking points between China and the West, that also include the crackdown on Hong Kong and perceived trade abuses.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said China “continues to commit genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang” and called on Beijing to “bring an end to the repression of Uighurs”.
The sanctions, whose impact is mainly symbolic, mark the first time Brussels and London have targeted China over accusations of widespread abuses and forced labour in Xinjiang.
They last hit Beijing over human rights breaches when they imposed an arms embargo in 1989 after the Tiananmen Square crackdown.
China’s tit-for-tat sanctions drew condemnation from the EU.
Reinhard Butikofer, a German legislator targeted by the sanctions, told AFP the response was “brazen and ridiculous”.
The EU faces a delicate balancing act over relations with China, as it treats Beijing as a rival but also a potential economic partner.
Late last year Brussels sealed a major investment pact with China after seven years of negotiations.
The pact will eventually need to be approved by the European parliament — but there has been growing opposition to signing off on the deal.
In Beijing, Hua warned the pact could be thrown into jeopardy if the EU continues to ramp up the pressure.
“The European side cannot expect to talk about cooperation and make real gains on the one hand, and have sanctions on the other, harming China’s interests,” she said.
Washington’s top diplomat Blinken is on his way to Brussels, where he will discuss foreign policy with EU chief Ursula von der Leyen.
Blinken exchanged fiery barbs with Chinese officials during their first high-level talks last week, dimming the potential for a quick reset to relations between the countries which hit a nadir under Donald Trump.