The EU imposes sanctions on China for the first time in 31 years – World

The European Union agreed Wednesday at an ambassadorial level to blacklist Chinese officials for human rights abuses, two diplomats told Reuters. These are the first sanctions against Beijing since the 1989 EU arms embargo following the ongoing Tiananmen Square crackdown.

EU ambassadors approve travel bans and asset freezes on four Chinese citizens and one person whose names will not be made public until official approval by EU foreign ministers on March 22nd as part of a new and broader list of sanctions on human rights .

While the sanctions are largely symbolic, their adoption marks a significant consolidation in EU policy towards China, which Brussels has long considered a quality trading partner but now sees the country as a systemic violator of fundamental rights and freedoms. The country is the union’s second largest trading partner.

“Restrictive measures have been taken against serious human rights violations and abuses,” said an EU diplomat.

Chinese officials have been accused of human rights abuses against China’s Muslim Uighur minority, EU diplomats told Reuters. According to them, this move reflects the deep concern in Europe, the United States and Canada for the Uighurs.

UN activists and experts say at least 1 million Muslims have been detained in camps in the remote western region of Xinjiang. Activists and some Western politicians have accused China of using torture, forced labor and sterilization.

• The Dutch parliament followed Canada and the United States, describing China’s attitude toward Uighurs as genocide, which China rejects.

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On Twitter, the Chinese mission to the EU posted comments on the new sanctions imposed on Tuesday by China’s ambassador to the bloc, Zhang Ming. He said Beijing would not change its policy.

“The sanctions are confrontational,” the Chinese mission said on Twitter. “We want dialogue, not confrontation. We ask the EU to rethink them. If some insist on confrontation, we will not back down, as we have no choice but to fulfill our responsibilities to the people.”

China denies any human rights abuses in Xinjiang and says its camps provide vocational training and are needed to combat extremism. Beijing has repeatedly invited EU ambassadors to Xinjiang, but envoys say they cannot visit under strict conditions and surveillance set by Chinese authorities.

The EU also called for the release of ethnic Uyghur and economics professor Ilham Tokhti, who was imprisoned for life in 2014. He received the European Parliament’s Human Rights Award in 2019.

The full list of EU sanctions, with 11 names approved by EU ambassadors, also includes officials from Russia, Libya, South Sudan and North Korea, diplomats said.

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