Uyghur Human Rights Law Would Derail Trade Talks, Warns China Foreign Ministry
House passage Tuesday by a 407-1 vote of the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2019 would have serious repercussions for U.S.-China trade talks if the bill became law, threatened a Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Wednesday. HR-649 and the companion S-178 that cleared the Senate in September demand tough U.S. sanctions on China over reports of government-run detention centers imprisoning millions of Muslim-minority Chinese citizens in Xinjiang.
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The legislation “deliberately smears the human rights condition in Xinjiang,” and “slanders” China's counterterrorism efforts, said the spokesperson. “If the U.S. takes measures that harm China's interests, it must pay the price,” she said in direct answer to a question whether the legislation would derail the trade talks. “There is no way this won't affect bilateral relations and cooperation in important areas.” The White House didn’t comment.
China has no “deadline” for reaching a trade agreement with the U.S. “or not,” said the spokesperson of President Donald Trump's stated preference Tuesday to delay striking a deal until after the 2020 election (see 1912030006). “It is not in the interests of either side to fight a trade war.” Negotiating a “mutually beneficial and win-win” trade agreement is “in line with the aspirations” of the Chinese and American people, she said. “We hope that some people in the U.S. will earnestly heed the call of its people.”
U.S. consumers and businesses “have already paid $38 billion and counting” in Section 301 tariffs “as a result of the trade war and will continue to take hits as long as talks linger,” emailed Naomi Wilson, Information Technology Industry Council senior policy director-Asia, on Trump’s wanting to delay a trade deal until after the 2020 presidential campaign. It’s “imperative” that the “political leadership” in Congress on both sides of the aisle “maintain the pressure” on the Trump administration “to reach an agreement that meaningfully addresses unfair trade practices and rolls back harmful tariffs,” said Wilson Tuesday.