China’s Foreign Ministry announced Monday that it’s imposing sanctions on Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas), along with nine other Americans, per Bloomberg.
Why it matters: It’s a direct response to similar actions by the U.S. that included the Trump administration placing sanctions on officials Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam last Friday over Beijing’s encroachment of the Asian financial hub’s s autonomy.
Other Americans sanctioned include:
- Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.).
- Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.).
- Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.).
- Freedom House president Michael Abramowitz.
- Human Rights Watch executive director Kenneth Roth.
Of note: No members of the Trump administration are on China’s sanctions list.
- China announced last month it would ban Rubio, Cruz and other U.S. officials from entering the country over their criticisms of human rights abuses against Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang. However, there was no indication any of them intended to travel to China.