Hit back at China, US Republicans tell Joe Biden after American officials targeted with sanctions
- Beijing’s restrictions on 28 US officials a test of resolve for the new administration, senator says
- Harder political consensus in Washington gives new president little room for cooperation, analyst says
Jim Risch, head of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, tweeted on Thursday that in sanctioning 28 national security officials, China’s Communist Party was already testing the Biden administration’s “resolve to continue a tougher, competitive approach towards China”.
“Together, Republicans [and] Democrats must show Beijing we will not be deterred from defending US interests,” he tweeted.
China’s foreign ministry announced the sanctions against a list of US individuals and their families just 20 minutes after Biden was sworn in on Thursday, accusing those targeted of having “seriously violated China’s sovereignty” and being largely responsible for a “series of crazy moves” in US policy on China.
Ten of the people on the list were former members of the Trump administration, including secretary of state Mike Pompeo, trade adviser Peter Navarro, national security adviser Robert O’Brien, health secretary Alex Azar and deputy national security adviser Matthew Pottinger.
“China has pointed out multiple times that these anti-China politicians will pay for their crazy acts,” ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said.
“We hope the new US administration will view China and China-US relations in an objective and rational manner.”