The United States announced on Friday sanctions against 34 companies and other entities involved with the army and China’s policy towards the Muslim Uyghur minority, and for facilitating exports to Russia and Iran.
The group was sanctioned for its participation or risk of becoming involved in activities contrary to the foreign policy and national security interests of the United States, according to a statement by the Commerce Department.
Of these 34 organizations, 14 are headquartered in the People’s Republic of China and, according to the statement, have enabled Beijing’s campaign of repression, mass detention and high-tech surveillance against Uighurs, Kazakhs and members of other Muslim minority groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said that the “Commerce Department remains firmly committed to taking forceful and decisive action to attack entities that are enabling human rights abuses in Xinjiang or that use US technology to fuel destabilizing efforts to China’s military modernization.”
“We will continue to aggressively use export controls to hold governments, businesses and individuals accountable for trying to access US-sourced items for subversive activities in countries like China, Iran and Russia that threaten US national security interests. And they are incompatible with our values,” she added.
The Department of Commerce said that, as part of the sanctions, eight companies for facilitating the export of US items to Iran in violation of the Export Administration Regulations and six others for their participation in the acquisition of electronic device components of American origin, for likely support of Russian military programs.
The United States on Thursday voiced concern over reports that China is drastically increasing its nuclear arsenal, and urged Beijing to launch talks to prevent an arms race. “It is in everyone’s interest that nuclear powers speak to each other directly about reducing nuclear dangers and thus avoiding miscalculations,” said Robert Wood, US Ambassador to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva.
Last week, The Washington Post mentioned a study of satellite images on which showed that 119 missile silos are being built in a desert near the city of Yumen (northwest China). According to this report, these silos are similar to the hitherto known Chinese launch facilities for ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads.
Wood also said this situation raises “great concern,” and that he emphasized that until China sits at the table with the United States on a mutual basis, the risk of a destructive arms race will continue to rise, and this does not benefit anyone.
