EU must punish Chinese officials for human rights violations

The sanctions, including a travel ban and asset freeze, are being imposed over Beijing’s actions in Xinjiang that have labeled the US and some European capitals a genocide against the Uyghur Muslim minority.

The decision has yet to be formally approved, which is expected to happen when the foreign ministers meet later in March. The Chinese officials are on a broader list of alleged human rights violators from Russia, North Korea and Africa.

The names of the officials will not be released until a formal decision has been made.

The decision is the final sign that, despite keeping channels open with Beijing and seeking closer economic ties, the EU is ready to confront China on human rights and other issues. The bloc tries to maintain a delicate – and often divisive – balance in its relationship with a country it calls its competitor, partner and systemic rival.

Over the past year, the EU has pressured senior Chinese officials, including President Xi Jinping, about human rights violations in Xinjiang, the country’s treatment of rights activists and journalists, and the tightening of Beijing’s grip on Hong Kong. That has led to a sharp decline in Chinese officials, with Mr. Xi attacked EU leaders over their own human rights concerns and other officials demanded that Europe not interfere in internal affairs.

At the same time, the EU and China have taken important steps to deepen their economic ties. In December, the two sides concluded seven years of negotiations on an investment deal, which raised concerns among the new Biden government and some lawmakers in Brussels.

At the time of the investment agreement, which has yet to be ratified, EU officials insisted that the agreement would not prevent them from exerting pressure on issues such as human rights and Hong Kong, and pointed to the new human rights sanctions, also imposed last December . , as a means of doing this.

There was no immediate comment on the sanctions agreement of the Chinese mission in Brussels.

Earlier this month, the EU first used its human rights sanctions, similar to the US Magnitsky Act, against those involved in the capture of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny. However, the EU was already planning a wider range of sanctions against officials around the world for human rights violations.

Yet this week it took three days of talks between EU ambassadors in Brussels to bridge the differences over the list of sanction targets. The government of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has warm political and economic ties with Beijing, spearheaded opposition to the new sanctions, but the 27 governments reached an agreement Thursday afternoon.

Following the use of deadly force by the Chinese Communist Party against protesters in Beijing in 1989, the EU imposed a series of economic sanctions and embargoes on China, but these were long gone when ties with Beijing blossomed in the 1990s and 2000s. EU has maintained an arms embargo against China.

In recent years, as Mr Xi has tightened control in China, tensions between the EU and Beijing have increased, with battles over trade and human rights issues, as well as tensions over what the EU sees as Chinese disinformation during the coronavirus crisis. The EU has begun to discuss Chinese challenges with Washington, although it insists that it will continue its own independent line with Beijing.

“There is a real dynamic going on. Our Chinese friends are reaping what they have sown in Europe, ”said an EU diplomat.

Last July, the EU approved some modest measures in response to China’s crackdown on Hong Kong, restricting extradition deals with the island. The block is currently considering additional measures.

However, German Chancellor Angela Merkel in particular has urged the region to maintain close contact with China. German exports to China have multiplied and Ms Merkel was a strong supporter of a speedy finalization of the investment deal.

The US has imposed a series of sanctions on Chinese officials and companies in Xinjiang amid international condemnation of large internment camps for Uyghur citizens, including allegations of rights violations and forced sterilization. Shortly before leaving office, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo labeled China’s actions in the northwestern province as genocide.

China has denied any mistreatment of its Muslim minority and officials have denied any massive internment of Uyghurs.

Write to Laurence Norman at [email protected]