Diplomats: China threatened to withhold Ukraine’s shots

GENEVA — China pressured Ukraine into withdrawing its support for a call for more scrutiny of human rights in China’s western region of Xinjiang by threatening to withhold Chinese-made COVID-19 vaccines destined for Ukraine unless it did so, diplomats told The Associated Press on Friday.

Ukraine briefly joined a statement by over 40 countries, presented by Canada at the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Tuesday, urging China to allow immediate access for independent observers to Xinjiang. Some human rights groups have alleged Chinese mistreatment of Muslim Uyghurs and others in the region.

On Thursday, Ukraine pulled its name off the list of supporting states after Chinese authorities warned

Kyiv that they would block a planned shipment of at least 500,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines to Ukraine unless it did so, said diplomats from two Western countries.

Ukraine has agreed to purchase

1.9 million doses of Coronavac vaccine from China’s Sinovac Biotech. As of early May, Ukraine had received

1.2 million doses, according to Health Minister Maxim Stepanov.

In the past, China’s government has been no stranger to pressuring other countries in Geneva diplomatic circles or in national capitals either to line up behind its statements or avoid backing statements that criticize, question or seek scrutiny of human rights in the country.

But the alleged pressure would mark an escalation of intense recent efforts by Beijing to push back against criticism of its rights record, this time by potentially jeopardizing health — even lives — as a way to minimize international attention to it, the diplomats said.

One of the Western diplomats called it sign of “bare-knuckles” diplomacy by China.