China Announces Counter-Sanctions Against U.S. Officials
China says it has imposed sanctions on U.S. government officials in retaliation for similar action taken against Chinese officials earlier this month.
Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, did not name the American officials who had been blacklisted by Beijing, but said visa restrictions would be placed on those who had "concocted lies" about China's human rights record.
The sanctions were to "protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese officials," Wang said at a regular media briefing in China's capital on Thursday. The tit-for-tat move comes 10 days after Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced via the State Department punitive measures against individuals who the U.S. believed were responsible for human rights abuses and the suppression of religious freedom.
At a Foreign Ministry press conference on March 22, Wang demanded President Joe Biden's administration immediately lift the political sanctions, and threatened to "respond with countermeasures."
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/china-announces-counter-sanctions-against-us-officials/ar-AAVIy0L
