U.s., europe seek counters against China

BRUSSELS — The United States and European countries are closing ranks to respond to what the U.S. calls “aggressive and coercive” behavior by China, days after the U.S. and its allies launched coordinated sanctions against Chinese officials accused of rights abuses in the far-western Xinjiang region.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that he wants to work with U.S. partners on “how to advance our shared economic interests and to counter some of China’s aggressive and coercive actions, as well as its failures, at least in the past, to uphold its international commitments.”

Blinken agreed in talks with European Union officials on the launch of what EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell described as an EU-U.S. dialogue on China “to discuss the full range of related challenges and opportunities.”

“We share an assessment of China’s role as a partner, as a competitor and a systemic rival,” Borrell told reporters after their meeting in Brussels.

Earlier, at NATO headquarters, Blinken said that “when we are acting together, we are much stronger and much more effective than if any single one of us is doing it alone.”

He noted that alone the U.S. accounts for about 25 percent of global GDP but up to 60 percent with its allies in Europe and Asia. “That’s a lot harder for Beijing to ignore,” he said.

On Monday, the U.S., EU, Britain and Canada imposed asset freezes and travel bans on a group of officials in Xinjiang. China retaliated by slapping sanctions on 10 Europeans.

China denied the existence of camps detaining Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang but since has described them as centers to provide job training and to re-educate those exposed to extremists. Chinese officials deny all charges of rights abuses there.