在新的限制措施出台之前，华盛顿和渥太华联合欧盟和英国，就北京涉嫌虐待中国新疆自治区维吾尔人一事制裁中国官员。中国已经驳回了所有的不当行为指控，并指责西方国家淡化自己的历史罪行。
中国外交部周六宣布对美国和加拿大的个人和实体实施对等制裁。这些限制针对美国国际宗教自由委员会主席盖尔·曼钦和该组织副主席托尼·珀金斯。曼钦和珀金斯在过去一年的大部分时间里都在游说美国国会在维吾尔问题上对中国采取强硬立场。
加拿大的目标包括保守党下议院议员迈克尔·钟和下议院外交和国际发展常设委员会国际人权小组委员会。他们在加拿大议会带头指控中国对维吾尔人的待遇是“种族灭绝”
外交部在一份新闻声明中表示，这些措施是“针对”美国和加拿大“基于谣言和虚假信息，于3月22日对新疆相关个人和实体实施单方面制裁而采取的。
制裁规定，禁止名单上的个人进入中国，包括香港和澳门，并禁止中国公民和机构与被制裁者发生商贸往来或进行交流。
外交部在周六的声明中证实，“中国此前对在新疆相关问题上严重损害中国主权和利益的美国个人的制裁仍然有效”，并敦促卷入争端的国家“清楚了解情况，纠正错误”，“停止在新疆相关问题上的政治操纵”和干涉中国内政。
“否则，他们会被烫伤手指，”北京方面警告说。
美国和加拿大与英国和欧盟一道，针对被指控参与周一新疆维吾尔人大规模拘留的中国高级官员和实体，此前布鲁塞尔和伦敦上周对中华人民共和国实施了三年多来的首次制裁。北京方面的回应是制裁9名英国公民和4个实体，以及10名欧洲人，包括几名欧洲议会成员和4个欧盟实体。
双方立场坚定。3月17日，在实施限制之前，中国驻布鲁塞尔大使张明敦促欧盟“三思而后行”，并警告说，“如果有人坚持对抗，我们不会让步，因为除了履行对我国人民的责任，我们别无选择。”
新疆争端
新疆争端的核心是西方国家的指控，即多达100万维吾尔族穆斯林被置于残酷的“再教育营”，以将他们融入汉族文化。中国当局一再否认这些说法，坚称这些机构是根据联合国反极端主义指导方针建立的自愿职业中心，并邀请外国官员和人权组织亲自访问新疆，了解到底发生了什么。
伊斯兰激进分子和分裂分子制造了多起恐怖事件，包括2009年的一次袭击，造成近200人死亡，约1700人受伤，其中几乎都是汉族人。在此之后，北京加强了新疆地区的安全。
除新疆外，美国及其盟友还指责北京方面在2019年镇压了香港的民主活动人士。北京方面的回应是告诉华盛顿不要多管闲事，并暗示抗议活动是外国支持的引发革命的企图。围绕台湾的紧张局势也在加剧，北京方面认为台湾是一个叛离省份。美国还在南中国海与北京发生冲突，中华人民共和国声称对大片战略上富含碳氢化合物的水域拥有主权，而美国海军试图进行“航行自由”巡逻。
中美争端也与贸易和技术有关，特朗普政府在2018年对北京发动了一场数万亿美元的贸易战，此前指责中国犯下了一系列经济罪行，并试图破坏美国的信息安全。这场争端本应在2020年1月签署第一阶段贸易协议时得到解决，但双方都没有完全遵守条约的条款，此后华盛顿方面引入了新的制裁和限制。自1月份上任以来，拜登政府一直坚持其前任对中国政策的强硬态度。
普什科夫警告说，中国将对美国进行严厉的反制裁
2021年3月27日
参议员阿列克谢·普什科夫(Alexei Pushkov)在3月28日(星期日)的电报频道上评论了中国对美国实施报复性制裁的决定。
据他说，美国实际上还没有经历过其他国家的反制裁，但“面对反制裁是必然的”，这位政治家表示，中国有能力采取严厉的报复措施。
“但他们只会在涉及重大项目和美国商业利益时才会采取行动。另一个可能的措施是抵制拜登的外交举措，”普什科夫写道。
这位参议员强调，美国不应该认为它将决定世界议程。
周六早些时候，中国外交部针对美国和加拿大3月22日对在新疆侵犯人权的中国官员和组织实施的单方面制裁，对这些国家的一些个人和组织实施了报复措施。
制裁包括美国国际宗教自由委员会(USCIRF)主席盖尔·曼钦(Gail Manchin)、该组织副主席托尼·珀金斯(Tony Perkins)、加拿大议员迈克尔·钟(Michael Chong)以及司法和人权委员会(加拿大众议院常设委员会)。
我们注意到，受到制裁的人被禁止进入中国，包括香港和澳门，中国公民和组织不能与受到制裁的人和公司做生意。此外，国务院强调，此前对美国公民和公司实施的制裁仍然有效。
俄罗斯评估中国对美国制裁的反应
2021年3月28日
Correct Mistakes': China Slaps Reciprocal Sanctions on US and Canada Amid Xinjiang Row
by Ilya Tsukanov
The new restrictions follow Washington and Ottawa's move to join the European Union and Britain in sanctioning Chinese officials over Beijing's alleged mistreatment of Uyghurs in China's Xinjiang autonomous region. China has dismissed all claims of wrongdoing and has accused Western nations of downplaying their own historical crimes.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry announced reciprocal sanctions against American and Canadian individuals and entities on Saturday. The restrictions target United States Commission on International Religious Freedom Chairman Gayle Manchin, as well as the organisation's Vice Chair Tony Perkins. Manchin and Perkins spent much of the past year lobbying US Congress to take a tough line on China over the Uyghur issue.
Canadian targets include Conservative Party House of Commons lawmaker Michael Chong and the House of Commons' Subcommittee on International Human Rights of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development. Chong has led the charge in Canada's Parliament to declare China's treatment of Uyghurs a "genocide."
In a press statement, the Foreign Ministryindicatedthat the measures were taken "in response" to the US and Canada's imposition of "unilateral sanctions on relevant individuals and entit[ies] in Xinjiang on March 22 based on rumours and disinformation."
The sanctions ban the individuals listed from entering China, including Hong Kong and Macao, and prohibit Chinese citizens and institutions from doing business with or having exchanges with those targeted.
In its statement on Saturday, the ministry confirmed that "China's previous sanctions on US individuals who have seriously undermined China's sovereignty and interests on Xinjiang-related issues remain" in force, and urged countries involved in the dispute to "clearly understand the situation and redress their mistakes," and "stop political manipulation on Xinjiang-related issues" and interference in China's internal affairs.
"Otherwise, they will get their fingers burnt," Beijing warned.
The United States and Canada joined Britain and the European Union in targeting senior Chinese officials and entities accused of involvement in the mass internment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang on Monday, with the move coming after Brussels and London imposed their first sanctions against the People's Republic in over three decadeslast week.Beijingrespondedby sanctioning nine British nationals and four entities, as well as10 Europeans, including several members of the European Parliament, and four EU entities.
Both sides are standing firm on their positions. On 17 March, ahead of the imposition of restrictions, Chinese Ambassador to Brussels Zhang Ming urged the EU to"think twice,"and warned that "if some insist on confrontation, we will not back down as we have no options other than fulfilling our responsibilities to the people in our country."
Xinjiang Spat
The Xinjiang dispute centres around Western countries' allegations that as many as one million Muslim Uyghurs have been placed in brutal "re-education camps" to assimilate them into Han Chinese culture. Chinese authorities have repeatedly dismissed these claims, maintaining that the institutions are voluntary vocational centres set up in accordance with UN anti-extremism guidelines, and inviting foreign officials and human rights groups to visit Xinjiang for themselves to find out what's really going on.
Beijingstepped up security in the Xinjiang regionin the wake of multiple terrorist incidents by Islamist radicals and separatists, including a 2009 attack which killed nearly 200 people and left some 1,700 wounded, nearly all of them Han Chinese.
Along with Xinjiang, the US and its allies have also accused Beijing of cracking down on pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong in 2019. Beijing responded by telling Washington to mind its own business and suggesting that the protests were a foreign-backed attempt to spark a revolution. Tensions have also been rising over Taiwan, the US ally which China considers as a renegade province. The US has also clashed with Beijing in the South China Sea, where the People's Republic lays claim to large swathes of strategic, hydrocarbon-rich waters, while the US Navy attempts to conduct "freedom of navigation" patrols.
The China-US spat is also linked to trade and technology, with the Trump administration unleashing a multi-trillion dollar trade war against Beijing in 2018 after accusing the PRC of a litany of economic crimes, and of attempting to undermine America's information security. The dispute was meant to be resolved with the signing of the Phase One trade deal in January 2020, but neither side has fully committed to the treaty's terms, and Washington has since introduced new sanctions and restrictions. Since coming into office in January, the Biden administration has generally stuck to its predecessor'stough guy approach toChina policy.
Pushkov warned of serious counter-sanctions of the PRC against the United States
March 27, 2021
Senator Alexei Pushkov in his Telegram channel on Sunday, March 28, commented on China’s decision to impose retaliatory sanctions against the United States.
According to him, the United States, in fact, has not yet experienced counter-sanctions from other countries, but “it is inevitable to face it.” According to the politician, China is capable of serious retaliatory measures.
“But they will only act when they touch upon major projects and the interests of American business. Another possible measure is a boycott of Biden’s diplomatic initiatives, ”Pushkov wrote.
The senator stressed that the United States should not assume that it will determine the world agenda.
Earlier on Saturday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry, in response to unilateral sanctions by the United States and Canada, imposed on March 22 against individual Chinese officials and organizations for human rights violations in Xinjiang, imposed retaliatory measures against several individuals and organizations of these countries.
The sanctions affected the head of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) Gail Manchin, the vice-chairman of the organization Tony Perkins, Canadian MP Michael Chong, as well as the committee on justice and human rights (standing committee of the Canadian House of Commons).
It is noted that persons who have come under the sanctions are prohibited from entering China, including Hong Kong and Macau, and Chinese citizens and organizations cannot do business with persons and companies who have come under the sanctions. In addition, the department stressed that the previously imposed sanctions against US citizens and companies remain in force.
Russia assessed China’s response to US sanctions
March 28, 2021
