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Triggered By Chinese Sanctions, Republicans Urge Joe Biden To Take Tougher Stance On US-China Policy

The Republican Twitter storm was launched after Beijing slapped sanctions on former Trump officials for destabilising relations with China and numerous accusations amid the ongoing trade war.
Sputnik

Senior Republican officials have called on US president Joe Biden to toughen his policy on China, the South China Morning Post reported on Friday.

Senator Jim Risch [R-ID], head of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, tweeted on Friday China's sanctioning of 28 outgoing national security officials would test US president Joe Biden's administration to maintain a "tougher, competitive approach" towards Beijing.

​"Together, Republicans & Democrats must show Beijing we will not be deterred from defending U.S. interests," he wrote.

US Rep Michael McCaul [R-TX] also tweeted he was "in disbelief" President Biden would rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement while China was being "let off the hook".

The comments come after China slapped sanctions on former US officials, including Mike Pompeo, Peter Navarro, Alex Azar and Robert O'Brien, among many others, just minutes after Biden's inauguration on Wednesday over their role in destabilising ties between Washington and Beijing to historic lows.

Chinese Response To Republican Comments

Officials in Beijing slammed the former officials as having "seriously violated China's sovereignty" and launching a "series of crazy moves" on policy towards the mainland.

US Set to Slap Sanctions on Key Xinjiang Conglomerate Amid Trade War With China, Report Says
The former Trump administration routinely accused China of "genocide and crimes" in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), which Beijing has routinely and sharply denied, and imposed sanctions on firms in the region.

Further US sanctions came over Beijing's national security law in Hong Kong aimed at cracking down on violence from separatists operating in the region, leading to countermeasures from Beijing.

“China has pointed out multiple times that these anti-China politicians will pay for their crazy acts. We hope the new US administration will view China and China-US relations in an objective and rational manner,” Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in a statement.

Replying to the comments, Hua said the Trump administration had imposed thousands of sanctions on China.

“We have long said that unilateral sanctions harm others and hurt oneself, and just like a boomerang, sooner or later it will fly back. McCaul’s comments fully expose how some US politicians only allow the US to engage in arbitrary suppression and do not allow others to justly defend themselves against bullying, hegemony and hegemonic logic,” she said as quoted by the SCMP.

Beijing's response was “completely appropriate and necessary, fully demonstrating the Chinese government’s firm determination to safeguard national interests," she added.

But the news comes as commentators expect the Biden administration to maintain a tough stance on China, namely after comments from Biden's national security advisor Anthony Blinken stated former US president Donald Trump was "right in taking a tougher approach to China" despite disagreeing with how Trump had approached the matter.

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