Uyghur Human Rights Law Would Derail Trade Talks, Warns China Foreign Ministry
The Dec. 3 House passage of the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2019 will have serious repercussions for U.S.-China trade talks if the bill becomes law, a China Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson threatened on Dec. 4. H.R. 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 countertenor efforts, the spokesperson said. “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 House bill passed as an amended version of the Senate bill currently under consideration. Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Bob Menendez, D-N.J., who is also Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking member, said they would support the House version in the Senate. “I applaud the House for taking swift action and passing an amended version of my bill and I look forward to working with my Senate colleagues to get it passed and sent to the President for enactment,” Rubio said. Menendez said he is “committed to working with my colleagues to get a final bill on the president’s desk as quickly as we can.” The White House didn’t comment.
The bill’s passage comes less than a week after Congress passed a bill to reassess whether Hong Kong still merits special customs treatment and whether it is violating U.S. export controls and sanctions. After President Donald Trump signed the bill into law, China sanctioned several U.S. non-governmental organizations (see 1912020021).
Meanwhile, in the same press conference, the China Foreign Affairs Ministry spokeswoman said China has no “deadline” for reaching a trade agreement with the U.S. “or not,” the spokesperson said of President Donald Trump's stated preference to delay striking a deal until after the 2020 election. “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,” Wilson said.