TIRANA – President Donald Trump has dramatically ramped up his campaign against Beijing by sanctioning Chinese and Hong Kong officials and barring US companies from doing business with high-profile Chinese technology groups, Financial Times said in a report on imposed sanctions on 11 Chinese and Hong Kong officials by US administration on Friday.
The unprecedented sanctioning of Hong Kong officials came just hours after Mr. Trump issued two executive orders that banned US companies from dealing with WeChat, the messaging app owned by Tencent, and ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, a hugely popular video app that Microsoft is in talks to buy.
“The dual moves mark a serious escalation in the US effort to push back against China over everything from its economic practices and espionage to alleged human and civil rights abuses in places such as Xinjiang and Hong Kong,” said Financial Times.
The Trump administration on Thursday also announced recommendations that propose delisting Chinese companies from US stock exchanges unless China allowed US regulators adequate access to their audited accounts.
Beijing urges Washington to rectify its mistake
Saying that reckless political manipulation and suppression of certain non-American firms by the United States is doomed to “boomerang,” China on Friday urged Washington to rectify its mistake and refrain from politicizing economic issues.
The remarks were made by Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin in response to U.S. executive orders issued Thursday, which ban transactions carried out by American companies or individuals with parent companies of WeChat and TikTok apps, reported Xinhua.
The companies, in line with market principles and international rules, have conducted commercial activities in the United States while following local laws and regulations, Wang told a daily press briefing.
“The U.S. has frequently abused state power to wantonly suppress non-American firms under the pretext of national security. This is blatant bullying behavior, which China firmly opposes,” the spokesperson said, noting relevant U.S. moves have drawn criticism and doubts from many people within the United States and the international community.
China and US should avoid strategic miscalculation
In the meantime the Senior Chinese diplomat, Yang Jiechi said on Friday that China and the United States should assume a strategic height and long-term perspective and keep their relations in the right direction with a sense of responsibility for history and the people.
He made the remarks in a signed article titled “Respect History, Look to the Future and Firmly Safeguard and Stabilize China-U.S. Relations,” which was published Friday.
Yang, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, said that the United States should work with China to develop a bilateral relationship based on coordination, cooperation and stability, so as to bring China-U.S. relations back to the right track.
China and the United States should respect each other’s core interests and major concerns, said Yang, stressing that China’s resolve to defend its sovereignty, security, and development interests is unshakable.
He said that China and the United States should avoid strategic miscalculation and manage well their differences. “China is always open to dialogue and communication with the United States. The two sides should enhance cooperation through communication, and properly address differences through dialogue.”
China and the United States should also expand mutually beneficial cooperation in all fields, and cement popular support for their relations, said Yang.
“To safeguard and stabilize China-U.S. relations is the call of the people and the trend of the times,” Yang said. “We urges U.S. decision-makers to respect facts of history, recognize the trend of the times, heed the visionary calls in the United States, and listen to the voice of the international community.”
“We urge them to redress mistakes and change course, and work with China to manage differences on the basis of mutual respect, expand cooperation on the basis of mutual benefit, and bring China-U.S. relations back to the track of sound and steady development,” he said. /Compiled by argumentum.al
