China imposes tit-for-tat sanctions on U.S. Lawmakers

BEIJING — As tensions between the two sides mount, the Chinese government announced Monday it would impose sanctions on three U.S. lawmakers and a diplomat in retaliation for similar moves last week by the Trump administration against four officials in China.

The largely symbolic sanctions targeted Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey, all of whom are Republicans. Also named were Sam Brownback, President Donald Trump’s ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom, and the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, a U.S. government agency that focuses on human rights.

The Trump administration imposed its sanctions in response to what it describes as pervasive human rights abuses in China’s Xinjiang region, home to the largely Muslim Uighur minority. The administration banned four Chinese officials and a Chinese government agency on Thursday from accessing American banks and other financial institutions. It also restricted them from obtaining visas to the United States.

Hua Chunying, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said on Monday that China had to react to U.S. interference in its domestic affairs.

“We urge the U.S. side to immediately revoke the wrong decision and stop any words and deeds that interfere in China’s internal affairs and harm China’s interests,” Hua said at a news briefing. “China will make further response according to the development of the situation.”

Hua described the Chinese sanctions as “corresponding.” But she did not provide details on how they might prevent the targeted Americans from using China’s financial system or obtaining Chinese visas.

The sanctions are likely to be mostly symbolic on both sides, as neither the Chinese officials nor the Americans are known to have assets in each other’s financial systems.