U.S. Sanctions on Chinese Companies
Beginning January 2021, a ban will be issued on investments by Americans in firms that have any relation to China. The ban, also referred to as a sanction, puts restrictions on a particular group or individual, in this case being certain Chinese companies. The Trump administration recently added twenty four companies to the list of companies that would be banned from purchasing U.S products.
The Trump Administration issued this ban due to the Chinese mistreatment of Uighur Muslims in camps in the Xinjiang region of China. Around a million Uyghur Muslims are currently held in concentration camps with the supposed purpose of “re-educating them.” They are being forced to eat pork and drink alcohol, both of which are against their religion. The Chinese government’s cruelty towards this group of minorities led many countries to accuse China of "gross and egregious" human rights abuses against the Uighurs,” including the United States (The Uighurs and the Chinese state: A long history of discord). Although China still denies their persecution of the Uighur Muslims, the abundant amount of evidence says otherwise, leading the United States to place sanctions on several Chinese companies.
The Trump Administration also placed sanctions on China “in relation to China’s encroachment in the South China Sea, which stretches south of Hong Kong and borders the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and other countries” (The New York Times). The ban will render China unable to buy any American goods without permission first. According to the Commerce Department, even if China does seek permission to buy goods, their requests will most likely be denied. Moreover, the State Department declared that any Chinese citizens who have any association with the encroachment in the South China Sea will not be granted visas to the United States.
Many are furious with the new rule, as dozens of immigrants and even some of their family members now face visa restrictions. The relationship between the United States and China is becoming noticeably worse with time, especially with the recent worldwide coronavirus outbreak.
President Trump has consistently looked for different ways of placing the blame on China, starting with criticizing them for having not done enough to prevent the spread of the virus. Furthermore, many actions have recently been taken against China by the U.S., including shutting down their consulate in Houston, placing sanctions on Chinese officials, and attempting to ban Chinese owned apps including TikTok and WebChat. All these measures have dramatically affected the relationship between China and the U.S. (The New York Times). China’s anger at the United States became clear when a spokesperson from the Chinese embassy referred to the sanctions as “completely unreasonable,” since the South China Sea is technically a part of China. The spokesperson strongly “suggests” that America withdraw its sanctions and stop taking advantage of Chinese relations with the United States.
Overall, the United States’ decision to place sanctions on Chinese companies and limits on Chinese citizens have resulted in a tense and declining relationship between the U.S. and China.
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