China defied US, sanctioned six people and one North American institution

China announced sanctions on Friday against six individuals and an American institution, two days after the visit of US Under Secretary of State Wendy Sherman.

The measure responds to sanctions imposed on July 16 by Washington on seven Chinese officials for “undermining the autonomy” of Hong Kong.

In a press release published this Friday at the last minute, The Chinese regime’s Foreign Ministry said the sanctions will be imposed on former US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, Chair of the China-US Economic and Security Assessment Committee Carolyn Bartholomew, and former US Secretary of Commerce. Director of the Executive Committee of the Congress on China Jonathan Stivers.

The Chinese director of the NGO Human Rights Watch, Sophie Richardson, DoYun Kim, of the National Democratic Institute for Foreign Affairs, the program manager of the American Republican Institute, Adam King, and the Democratic Council of Hong Kong also spoke. subject to sanctions. Kong.

“The United States concocted the so-called ‘Hong Kong affairs’ warning to baselessly attack Hong Kong’s business environment and illegally imposed sanctions on various officials at the central government liaison office in Hong Kong , protested the Chinese Foreign Ministry in the text published on its website.

These sanctions They were the first issued by Beijing since the approval last June of a new law against foreign sanctions. and they arrive two days before the visit, which begins this Sunday, of the number two of the American diplomacy, Wendy Sherman, in the city of Tianjin, in northeast China, as part of an Asian tour.

Last day 16, Washington has warned US companies of “emerging” risks of operating in Hong Kong and sanctioned seven Chinese officials for their “attack on the autonomy” of this territory.

According to the US government, Many challenges for businesses stem from the National Security Law that Beijing imposed on Hong Kong a year ago to fight anti-government protests. who took to the streets in the second half of 2019 and undermine the city’s pro-democracy movement.

Relations between Beijing and Washington began to deteriorate in 2018, when former President Donald Trump started a trade war with China which then spread to areas such as technology and diplomacy, and although Contacts resumed after the arrival of Joe Biden at the White House, the atmosphere is still very tense.

(With information from Efe)

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