China announced sanctions against a slew of recently departed Trump administration officials over their positions on China on Thursday, barring them from entering or doing business with the country.
Among those sanctioned were former secretary of state Mike Pompeo, former national security adviser Robert O’Brien, former White House trade adviser Peter Navarro, and former deputy national security adviser Matt Pottinger, considered one of the key architects of the Trump administration’s hardline China policies.
In total, 28 people were targeted by the measures, which also apply to the individuals’ immediate family members. Besides mainland China, they will not be permitted entry to Hong Kong or Macau, while any companies or entities associated with them will be restricted from doing business with China.
In a statement issued in the early hours of Thursday morning Beijing time, a foreign ministry spokesperson said the individuals were responsible for a number of “crazy moves” that had “gravely interfered in China’s internal affairs, undermined China’s interests, offended the Chinese people, and seriously disrupted China-US relations”.
Despite overseeing and priding himself in his administration’s hardline approach to China, former US president Donald Trump was himself spared from the sanctions.
Included in the list of individuals were three Trump administration officials who recently travelled or planned to travel to Taiwan: Alex Azar, the outgoing health and human services secretary, Keith Krach, under secretary of state for economic growth, energy, and the environment, and Kelly Craft, the US ambassador to the UN.
