China is sanctioning several U.S. Congress members, government officials, and heads of nongovernmental organizations for what the regime has called “egregious behavior on Hong Kong-related issues,” its foreign ministry said on Monday.
The sanctions are in response to Washington’s sanctioning six Chinese and Hong Kong officials last month for their alleged involvement in transnational repression and acts threatening to further erode Hong Kong’s autonomy.
The regime provided no details about which U.S. officials are being targeted.
“We must warn the U.S. that Hong Kong is China’s Hong Kong,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said while announcing Beijing’s retaliatory sanctions.
Those sanctioned by Washington include Hong Kong Justice Secretary Paul Lam, Hong Kong security office director Dong Jingwei, and former Hong Kong police commissioner Raymond Siu.
Sino-American tensions have been escalating in recent weeks, in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Chinese goods and the CCP’s retaliating with its own tariffs.
Trump’s import taxes against most countries were paused on April 9, but he increased the pressure on China by raising tariffs to 145 percent.
China’s Commerce Ministry said in a statement on Monday that the regime opposes any country making a deal with the United States “at the expense of China’s interests,” vowing to “take countermeasures in a reciprocal manner.”
Governments, including those of Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea, have already begun negotiations with Washington.
China said it’s open to talks with the United States, but no bilateral meetings between Beijing and Washington have been announced.
In recent years, there has been a rise in transshipment by Chinese companies to avoid U.S. tariffs.
Trump has spoken about his plan to close these loopholes and has publicly called on Mexico to raise its tariffs on Chinese goods to stop China from using it as a backdoor into the U.S. market.
The president has already signaled that he’s willing to lower or pause tariffs on Chinese goods if China agrees to negotiations, but his offer was met with a public refusal from Beijing.
“The ball is in China’s court. China needs to make a deal with us,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a press briefing on April 15.
“We don’t have to make a deal with them. There’s no difference between China and any other country except they are much larger,” she said, adding that the Chinese economy is dependent on the American consumer.
Later this week, Beijing is set to convene an informal U.N. Security Council meeting to accuse Washington of bullying and weaponizing tariffs, according to a concept note, a document that outlines the key elements of a proposed project, initiative, or program at the United Nations.
The note, inviting all 193 member states to attend the April 23 meeting, specifically criticizes the United States for imposing tariffs.
