China sanctioned a US lawmaker on Wednesday for “frequently interfering” in China’s domestic affairs.
The sanctions against representative Jim McGovern include freezing his assets and properties in China, prohibiting any organisation or individual in China from conducting transactions or working with him, and denying him and his family a visa to enter the country, according to China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
It is one of several rounds of sanctions against US lawmakers and companies that China has announced as relations have soured between Beijing and Washington.
China previously sanctioned US representative Michael McCaul and ex-representative Michael Gallagher over their support for Taiwan.
McGovern and McCaul introduced a bill calling for stronger US support for Tibet, a region in China where human rights groups have criticised authorities for the treatment of ethnic Tibetans.
Relations between the US and China have sunk, starting with a trade war in 2018 and then the Covid-19 pandemic. The US has been increasingly critical of Beijing’s human rights record, its handling of the pandemic and its actions towards Taiwan.
China, in response, has accused the US of meddling in its internal affairs and pursuing a containment strategy against China to prevent the country’s rise.
Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary. Most countries, including the US, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, but Washington is opposed to any attempt to take the self-governed island by force and is committed to arm Taiwan.
