China Hits US With Retaliatory Sanctions

On Friday, China announced retaliatory sanctions against the US in response to Hong Kong-related sanctions Washington imposed last week.

The Chinese measures targeted several US entities and individuals, including Wilbur Ross, who served as the head of the Commerce Department during the Trump administration. The sanctions imposed by the US last week targeted seven Chinese officials from China’s Hong Kong liaison office, which represents the Chinese government in the city.

“The relevant actions of the US seriously violated international law and the basic norms of international relations and seriously interfered in China’s internal affairs. China firmly opposes this and strongly condemn it,” the Chine Foreign Ministry said in a statement on the counter-sanctions. “Hong Kong affairs are purely China’s internal affairs. Any attempt by external forces to interfere in Hong Kong affairs is a mere stumbling block.”

On top of the sanctions, the US issued an advisory warning US companies of the risks of doing business in Hong Kong. A stronger advisory was issued for Xinjiang, which warned that American firms with supply chains in the territory could run a “high risk” of violating US law.

The increase in tensions between Washington and Beijing comes before Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman’s visit to China. The State Department said Sherman will be in China on July 25th and 26th, where she will meet with Chinese officials to potentially set up a meeting between Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.