China warns European Union against sanctions over Xinjiang
- Chinese envoy to Brussels says bloc should think twice about action that would be seen as confrontation
- EU foreign ministers to meet on Monday to consider blacklist in response to treatment of Uygurs and members of other Muslim minorities
“I want to emphasise that sanctions are confrontation. Sanctions based on lies could be interpreted as deliberately undermining China’s security and development interests,” ambassador Zhang Ming said in a videoconference with the Brussels-based European Policy Centre think tank on Tuesday.
“We want dialogue not confrontation. We ask the EU side to think twice. If some insist on confrontation we will not back down as we have no options but fulfilling our responsibilities to the people of our country.”
European diplomats say the bloc’s 27 foreign ministers are expected to agree at a meeting on Monday to add a small number of individuals or entities in China to the blacklist over the treatment of Uygurs and members of other Muslim minorities.
Officials in other countries including Russia, North Korea and Eritrea are also expected to be hit with asset freezes and visa bans over alleged human rights abuses.
02:27
US declares China has committed genocide in its treatment of Uygurs in Xinjiang
Rights groups say that at least 1 million Uygurs and other mostly Muslim minorities have been incarcerated in camps in the northwestern region, where China is also accused of forcibly sterilising women and imposing forced labour.