28 US persons sanctioned, what's behind Beijing's move
Plus an exhaustive compilation of CHN sanctions in response to US
【1】
Three minutes after Joe Biden became the 46th U.S. president, a slew of former U.S. officials who have just exited office were hit with sanctions from Beijing.
The news was simultaneously pushed from all of Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) media platforms in both Chinese and English, including WeChat, its official website, and Weibo, closely followed up by newsflash by state media outlets, indicating that the move was carefully planned and timed with the intention of getting a message through to Washington.
The message, though powerful, is peculiar in a number of ways.
First of all, not all of the targeted individuals are named.
The readout only identified 10 of the 28 who are sanctioned. Among the named individuals are
Michael R. Pompeo, Peter K. Navarro, Robert C. O'Brien, David R. Stilwell, Matthew Pottinger, Alex M. Azar II, Keith J. Krach, and Kelly D. K. Craft of the Trump administration as well as John R. Bolton and Stephen K. Bannon.
The omission of the others was a conscious decision by the MFA, as its spokesperson Hua Chunying deliberately deflected a question during her press briefing on Jan.21.
We have announced sanctions on U.S. persons who have seriously violated China's sovereignty and who have been mainly responsible for such U.S. moves on China-related issues. Those who are guilty know it only too well.
中方已经宣布对在涉华问题上严重侵犯中国主权，负有主要责任的美方人员实施制裁。至于哪些人做了坏事，他们自己心里是十分清楚的。
It is unclear why the names of the other 18 individuals were omitted. According to your host’s knowledge, the compilation of the list and the decision to only reveal it in part was made in Beijing, with limited input by the Chinese embassy in Washington.
Secondly, the sanction sounded powerful, but vague.
Let’s take a look at the texts.
这些人及其家属被禁止入境中国内地和香港、澳门，他们及其关联企业、机构也已被限制与中国打交道、做生意。
These individuals and their immediate family members are prohibited from entering the mainland, Hong Kong and Macao of China. They and companies and institutions associated with them are also restricted from doing business with China.
The sanction is obviously aimed to inflict pain, as it sought to dash hopes for those sanctioned to land cushy jobs in corporate America, something Beijing understand is common practice.
With the Chinese and U.S. economies intertwined as ever, it would significantly shorten the list of organizations which would trade away ties with China for a contract with the sanctioned individuals, or so Beijing hopes.
In your host’s opinion, the biggest catch in the sanction lies in a small detail. Carefully compared, there is a slight difference between the two versions, with the Chinese one adding the word “打交道”。
The term can be loosely translated into “having contact with”, and can be considered a synonym with “互动”（to interact with）. In Chinese the term is really broad and is rare if not non-existent in any legally binding language.
What constitutes as “打交道” would be subject to interpretation, as your host suspects, by the MFA. If defined by the broadest terms, taking a flight on Air China or participating in a zoom meeting with Chinese scholars may be considered “打交道”, though in such cases it would be difficult for the MFA, or any other Chinese law enforcement agency, to enforce the sanction.
The wording was even confusing for some within the Chinese foreign service, who told your host it is unclear how the MFA plans execute the sanction as it was laid out.
For your host, the vagueness of the language bears close resemblance to a Trump executive order in August that banned “any transaction” with WeChat. Your host speculates that the latest sanctions from Beijing may have borrowed a leaf from the executive order, in that it leaves ample room for interpretation later on.
Thirdly, the timing of the sanction.
By announcing the sanctions minutes after the transition of power, Beijing took care to avoid targeting sitting U.S. government officials, which can be interpreted as restraining itself from hurting the face of the United States, and a nod to the Biden administration, as those sanctioned are largely the political opponents of his party.
However, unveiling the sanctions as Biden was delivering his inaugural speech was not favorably viewed by all in Washington, including members of the Biden administration.
Whatever its true calibration, the timing of the sanction made sure it was amplified by the media and was received loud and clear by the Biden administration and others in U.S. politics, which Beijing is certainly pleased to know.
【2】
The tit for tat sanctions between China and the United States is relatively a new thing. China traditionally restrained from matching Washington with such moves, but during the Trump administration Beijing deviated from the past and became more comfortable standing up to punitive measures from Washington.
Your host did a little digging and assembled all the reports of Chinese sanction against the United States.
July 12, 2019——In response to a U.S. plan of selling weapons worth 2.22 billion U.S. dollars to Taiwan, China decided to impose sanctions on U.S. companies involved in the arms sales.
According the MFA, The arms sales to Taiwan by the United States are serious violations of the international law, the basic norms of international relations, the one-China principle and the three joint communiques between China and the United States. The MFA did not reveal what sanction measures were taken.
July 13, 2020——In response to U.S. sanctions against a Chinese government institution and four Chinese officials in Xinjiang, China decided to impose sanctions on four United States officials and an institution which include the U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China, Senator Marco Rubio, Senator Ted Cruz, Congressman Chris Smith, and Sam Brownback, the U.S. State Department ambassador-at-large for International Religious Freedom.
the MFA accused the four United States officials and an institution of acting viciously on issues related to Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The MFA did not reveal what sanction measures were taken.
Aug. 10, 2020——In response to sanctions by the U.S. government against 11 officials of the Chinese central government and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government, China announced sanctions against 11 U.S. officials including Senators Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, Tom Cotton and Pat Toomey, Representative Chris Smith, and Carl Gershman, President of the National Endowment for Democracy, Derek Mitchell, President of the National Democratic Institute, Daniel Twining, President of the International Republican Institute, Kenneth Roth, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch, and Michael J. Abramowitz, President of Freedom House.
The MFA announced that China's decision to sanction the 11 official with “egregious records on Hong Kong affairs” stems from the wrongdoings of the U.S. side. The MFA did not reveal what sanction measures were taken.
Oct. 26, 2020——China decided to impose sanctions on several U.S. enterprises including Lockheed Martin, Boeing Defense and Raytheon.
The MFA accused these enterprises of being involved in arms sales to Taiwan, which “violate the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. Joint Communiques, as well as undermine China's sovereignty and security interests.” The MFA did not reveal what sanction measures were taken.
Nov. 30, 2020——China announced sanctions against four U.S. individuals: Senior Director for Asia at the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) John Knaus, Regional Director for Asia-Pacific programs at the National Democratic Institute (NDI) Manpreet Anand, Crystal Rosario of the NDI, and NDI Program Manager in Hong Kong Kelvin Sit.
The MFA accused the four individuals with U.S. institutional links of having acted viciously on issues related to the Hong Kong. The MFA did not reveal what sanction measures were taken.
Dec. 10, 2020——In response to U.S. sanctions on senior Chinese lawmakers, China decided to impose reciprocal sanctions on some U.S. administration officials and congressional and NGO staff and on their immediate family members as well, with no specific names mentioned.
According to the MFA, those being sanctioned have behaved badly and borne major responsibilities over Hong Kong-related issues. The MFA did not reveal what sanction measures were taken.
Jan. 18, 2021——In response to U.S. sanctions on 6 Chinese officials related to the implementation of the Hong Kong National Security Law, China decided to impose reciprocal sanctions on U.S. executive officials, members of Congress and non-governmental organizations, while mentioning no specific names to be sanctioned.
The MFA said they have performed viciously and take the main responsibility for the U.S. negative actions toward Hong Kong-related issues and the Taiwan question. The MFA did not reveal what sanction measures were taken.
Jan. 21, 2021—— China announced sanctions on 28 persons including then U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo, White House trade adviser Peter K. Navarro, National Security Adviser Robert C. O'Brien, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs David R. Stilwell, Deputy National Security Advisor Matthew Pottinger, Health Secretary Alex M. Azar II, Under Secretary of State Keith J. Krach, and Ambassador to the United Nations Kelly D. K. Craft of the Trump administration as well as former U.S. National Security Advisor John R. Bolton and former chief strategist for Trump Stephen K. Bannon.
According to the MFA, the anti-China politicians “planned, promoted and executed a series of crazy moves which have gravely interfered in China's internal affairs, undermined China's interests, offended the Chinese people, and seriously disrupted China-U.S. relations.”
Measures: These individuals and their immediate family members are prohibited from entering the mainland, Hong Kong and Macao of China. They and companies and institutions associated with them are also restricted from doing business with China.
Your host would just make a few observations based on the above information.
Firstly, China’s sanction was always in retaliation against a move by Washington that it viewed as infringing on China’s sovereignty, mostly linked to Taiwan or Hong Kong affairs.
Secondly, China has never revealed what its sanctions looked like, until the most recent one, for which it gave more details. But that does not mean the targets of earlier sanctions are subject to the same measures as Pompeo’s group.
Thirdly, China’s retaliatory measures were clearly triggered by what it viewed as increasingly irrational actions by the Trump administration, this became more apparent especially during the latter half of Trump’s tenure. Beijing seemed to have signaled that if the Biden administration show good will in mending the Sino-U.S. relationship, it is ready to reciprocate.
This newsletter is penned by Yang Liu, founder of Beijing Channel, and Wencai Zhao, a contributor to this newsletter.