Iran Press/ Asia: Already strained relations between China and the United States were further muddied after US Congress approved a bill accusing Beijing’s of the crackdown on Uighur minorities, less than one week after US President Donald Trump signed separate human rights legislation on Hong Kong.
China’s ruling Communist Party has long regarded Hong Kong and the far west Xinjiang region as crucial areas for asserting territorial sovereignty, and it has responded with fury to what it considers foreign meddling.
“Xinjiang is China’s Xinjiang,” said a statement from China’s National Ethnic Affairs Commission, echoing another government mantra: “Hong Kong is China’s Hong Kong.”
Tensions over the recently passed US bills have cast doubt over the potential for a trade deal between the two countries, which have been embroiled in a 16-month tariff war.
Trump said Tuesday that he has “no deadline” for striking an agreement and that he may wait until after next year’s presidential election.
The Uighur Human Rights Policy Act denounces the detention of an estimated 1 million Uighurs, Kazakhs and others in Xinjiang, home to the predominantly minority groups. It would require the State Department to evaluate whether Chinese officials would meet the criteria for sanctions for their roles in enacting oppressive policies.
The bill “disregards the facts and mixes up black and white,” said the Foreign Affairs Commission of China’s legislature in one among a slew of strongly worded rebukes from government departments.
“It is regrettable that US Congress has not only turned a blind eye to Xinjiang’s efforts to combat terrorism and protect human rights in accordance with laws and regulations, but also to Xinjiang’s current economic development, social stability, national unity, and religious harmony,” the commission said.
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