China imposes unspecified sanctions on US officials over Taiwan

China has imposed sanctions on US officials – but without naming them or specifying the exact sanctions – as part of the two major powers’ dispute over Taiwan.

“In response to the wrongdoing of the US side China has decided to impose sanctions against US officials who behave egregiously and bear major responsibility,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said to reporters.

On Thursday, Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen met online with US Ambassador to the UN Kelly Craft, after the US envoy’s visit to Taiwan was cancelled.

The talks in the dying days of the administration of President Donald Trump provoked predictable outrage in Beijing, which repeated that it opposes all official contacts between Washington and Taiwan.

In other US measures, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on January 9 lifted restrictions on how American diplomats and government representatives deal with their contacts in Taiwan.

Beijing views Taiwan as a breakaway province that will one day be part of the country again.

Source: GNA