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US-China relations: Blinken condemns China’s ‘baseless sanctions’

  • Beijing’s efforts ‘contribute to the growing international scrutiny of the ongoing genocide’ in Xinjiang, US secretary of state says
  • US stands ‘in solidarity with Canada, the UK, the EU, and other partners and allies around the world’, he says

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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on China to end its human rights abuses in Xinjiang. Photo: Ron Przysucha/US Department of State
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Saturday that China’s tit-for-tat sanctions against two Americans in the growing dispute over Beijing’s treatment of Uygurs were “baseless” and would only shine a spotlight on the “genocide” in Xinjiang.
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“Beijing’s attempts to intimidate and silence those speaking out for human rights and fundamental freedoms only contribute to the growing international scrutiny of the ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang,” he said.

Blinken spoke out after China announced sanctions against two Americans, a Canadian and a rights advocacy body in response to sanctions imposed this week by the two countries over Beijing’s treatment of people from the Uygur ethnic minority group.

He called the sanctions on the two members of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom “baseless”.

At least 1 million Uygurs and people from other mostly Muslim groups have been held in camps in China’s Xinjiang region, according to rights groups, who accuse authorities of forcibly sterilising women and imposing forced labour.

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The European Union, Britain, Canada and the United States have sanctioned several members of Xinjiang’s political and economic hierarchy in coordinated action over the allegations, prompting retaliation from Beijing in the form of sanctions on individuals from the EU and Britain.
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