With Biden’s America, China and Russia can expect more clashes over human rights
Washington’s Russia sanctions and criticism of China’s handling of Xinjiang and Hong Kong signal a hardline stance that will be seen by both as interference
For their part, Beijing and Moscow would not wish to escalate tensions with Washington
The US and the EU unveiled coordinated sanctions on Russia and its top brass on March 2 for the poisoning and jailing of Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny, with the US sanctions targeting seven Russian officials and 14 entities involved in the chemical and biological industrial base in Russia.
Hailed as “a demonstration of transatlantic unity”, these are new US administration’s first sanctions against Russia. President Joe Biden also extended the Crimea-related sanctions imposed during the Obama administration in 2014. Now Washington is warning of more sanctions it could coordinate with Brussels to target Russia’s sovereign debt.
With these actions against Russia, the United States is just catching up with the European Union, which imposed sanctions on Russian officials in October last year for the poisoning of Navalny. Biden’s decision to reach out to Brussels to make a collective move also signals his desire to distinguish his approach from that of his unilateralist predecessor Donald Trump.
On its part, the EU said its latest sanctions were for the Navalny case, as well as the “repression of peaceful protests in connection with his unlawful treatment”. These penalties mark the first time the EU is using the Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime (the European version of the US Magnitsky Act), which was adopted in December last year.
Its policy dovetails with Biden’s ambition to unite like-minded democracies against “those who argue that … autocracy is the best way forward” – in other words, against Russia and China.
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US and EU sanction seven Russian officials over Alexei Navalny poisoning
US and EU sanction seven Russian officials over Alexei Navalny poisoning
China – recently described by the Biden administration as the biggest geopolitical challenge – expressed indirect support for Russia on March 3 when its foreign ministry spokesman said: “The handling of the issue concerning Mr Navalny is entirely Russia’s domestic affair. External forces have no right to interfere in a sovereign nation’s internal affairs.”
Beijing’s previous responses to the Navalny case and the protests were just as muted. When CCTV reported the news of Europe’s latest sanctions against Russia, it pointedly noted that the move “opens the way for the European Union to intervene in the internal affairs of other countries through human rights issues”. Some European politicians are already calling for Brussels to apply the new sanctions regime in the cases of Xinjiang and Hong Kong.
With Biden in the White House, the global march against Russia and China is likely to gain new momentum. The outgoing Trump administration on January 20 classified Beijing’s treatment of Uygurs as “genocide”. The Biden administration agrees with this statement, and has also strongly condemned China’s policy on its northwestern region.
On February 11, during his first phone call as president with Xi Jinping, Biden expressed his concerns about Beijing’s crackdown in Hong Kong and human rights abuses in Xinjiang. These issues could well become the cornerstone of the new administration’s policy towards China.
At a televised event on February 16, Biden criticised Beijing’s actions in Xinjiang and spoke of “repercussions for China”. It is a clear signal that the new administration will stick with the tough measures of the Trump era, when sanctions were imposed on Chinese officials and entities for human rights abuses.
But unlike Trump, who relinquished the US’ seat on the Human Rights Council, Biden has re-engaged with the UN body. This is a step towards elevating human right issues to a multilateral level, and orchestrating a global march against the governments of Russia and China.
People attend a protest against the jailing of opposition leader Alexei Navalny in St Petersburg, Russia, on January 31. Photo: AP
At the ongoing meeting of the National People’s Congress, Beijing has announced an overhaul of Hong Kong’s electoral system to ensure “patriots govern Hong Kong” and prevent “dictatorship of the majority”, as pro-Beijing lawmakers put it. The planned reform has already drawn warnings from the US and EU.
Brussels said it was “ready to take additional steps”, while Washington called the plan a “direct attack” on democracy, and threatened collective action against the “repression” in Hong Kong. Following Western responses to the enactment of the national security law last year, such a move would further deteriorate relations between China and the West.
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China’s 2021 National People’s Congress opens with Hong Kong’s electoral system on the agenda
China’s 2021 National People’s Congress opens with Hong Kong’s electoral system on the agenda
In some cases, Washington has taken a more cautious approach to applying sanctions. For example, it avoided sanctioning its long-time ally, the Saudi crown prince, over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.
Moscow and Beijing would not wish to escalate tensions with Washington, as both are immersed in their domestic affairs. Russia is seeking to reinvigorate its pandemic-hit economy. Between September and January, the share of Russian consumers who suffered income loss as a result of the pandemic rose from 27 to 53 per cent, which is higher than the global average of 46 per cent.
Indeed, Moscow has toned down its rhetoric with regard to Washington. In recent months, it extended the New START nuclear non-proliferation treaty with the US, said it saw no need for a military alliance with China, and welcomed the prospect of strategic stability dialogue with Washington.
Meanwhile, China has sought to stabilise its topsy-turvy relations with the US, with its foreign minister asking Washington to “return to objectivity and rationality”. This desire is driven by China’s long-term plans to double the size of its economy by 2035 through technological advancement.
China will have to cut its dependence on the West for advanced technology, while ensuring robust economic growth. This is where Xi’s “dual circulation” strategy comes in, but it is still in the embryonic stage. For the strategy to take off, and to make the most of its rapid economic recovery from the pandemic, Beijing needs a stable political environment.
To this end, Beijing has refrained from severely criticising the new Biden administration. On February 22, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi put the blame for the “immeasurable damage to bilateral relations” on the previous US administration, and pinned his hopes on the new administration bringing its China policy “back to reason”.
Sounding a different note from Washington, a spokesman for the NPC stressed last Thursday that disagreements between China and the US are “normal”, and that the two countries can coexist as major global powers. It is not likely, however, that this formulation, with regard to Beijing or Moscow, will be welcomed in Washington.
Danil Bochkov is an expert at the Russian International Affairs Council. Twitter: He tweets at @danil_bochkov
