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| Trump Administration’s Actions in Middle East Complicate Its Criticisms of China | |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| WASHINGTON — When Secretary of State Mike Pompeo gave a news conference this week in which he justified President Trump’s order to kill Iran’s most powerful general, he also took the opportunity to criticize China twice: for its mass detentions of Muslims and for its repressive policies in Hong Kong. | WASHINGTON — When Secretary of State Mike Pompeo gave a news conference this week in which he justified President Trump’s order to kill Iran’s most powerful general, he also took the opportunity to criticize China twice: for its mass detentions of Muslims and for its repressive policies in Hong Kong. |
| China hit back immediately. “It must be pointed out that the wars staged by the U.S. in the Middle East over the past years have caused countless Muslim casualties and displacement as well as turmoil in the region,” a Foreign Ministry spokesman, Geng Shuang, said at a news conference in Beijing. “As has been proven, it is precisely the U.S. that has infringed upon Muslim human rights.” | China hit back immediately. “It must be pointed out that the wars staged by the U.S. in the Middle East over the past years have caused countless Muslim casualties and displacement as well as turmoil in the region,” a Foreign Ministry spokesman, Geng Shuang, said at a news conference in Beijing. “As has been proven, it is precisely the U.S. that has infringed upon Muslim human rights.” |
| “Its attempts to sow discord between China and Islamic states are futile in the end,” he added. | “Its attempts to sow discord between China and Islamic states are futile in the end,” he added. |
| Mr. Trump’s military strike on the Iranian general and other aggressive actions against Tehran gave China ammunition to undermine the administration’s main line of critique on Beijing’s human rights record. And they have allowed China, the United States’ greatest rival for global influence, to raise the specter of the Iraq war, which, by one count, left 200,000 civilians or more dead and is considered by many Americans to be Washington’s greatest foreign policy disaster of the post-Vietnam era. | Mr. Trump’s military strike on the Iranian general and other aggressive actions against Tehran gave China ammunition to undermine the administration’s main line of critique on Beijing’s human rights record. And they have allowed China, the United States’ greatest rival for global influence, to raise the specter of the Iraq war, which, by one count, left 200,000 civilians or more dead and is considered by many Americans to be Washington’s greatest foreign policy disaster of the post-Vietnam era. |
| Beijing also stresses that it was Mr. Trump who destabilized the Middle East by withdrawing in May 2018 from a landmark nuclear deal that Iran had reached with six world powers, including China and the United States, and reimposing sanctions on Tehran. China is Iran’s biggest buyer of oil. | Beijing also stresses that it was Mr. Trump who destabilized the Middle East by withdrawing in May 2018 from a landmark nuclear deal that Iran had reached with six world powers, including China and the United States, and reimposing sanctions on Tehran. China is Iran’s biggest buyer of oil. |
| Complicating matters is the fact that while Mr. Pompeo talks tough about the detentions of at least one million Muslims in China, Mr. Trump has yet to seriously punish China for the abuses. Mr. Trump rarely, if ever, talks about human rights issues, and his main goal with China has been to try to reach a deal with President Xi Jinping to end the trade war that he started in July 2018. Liu He, the main Chinese negotiator, plans to visit Washington next week to sign a “phase one” agreement, officials in Beijing said on Thursday. | Complicating matters is the fact that while Mr. Pompeo talks tough about the detentions of at least one million Muslims in China, Mr. Trump has yet to seriously punish China for the abuses. Mr. Trump rarely, if ever, talks about human rights issues, and his main goal with China has been to try to reach a deal with President Xi Jinping to end the trade war that he started in July 2018. Liu He, the main Chinese negotiator, plans to visit Washington next week to sign a “phase one” agreement, officials in Beijing said on Thursday. |
| For many years, starting well before the Trump administration, China accused the United States of hypocrisy on human rights, using “whataboutism” arguments that point out the American histories of slavery, persecution of Native Americans and mass incarcerations. But Mr. Trump’s policies and China’s growing global power have emboldened Beijing to be more direct in those messages and to highlight what Chinese officials say are the deleterious effects of American foreign policy. Mr. Trump’s constant alienation of international allies, including with the surprise decision to kill Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani in a drone strike last week, helps strengthen China’s arguments, administration critics say. | For many years, starting well before the Trump administration, China accused the United States of hypocrisy on human rights, using “whataboutism” arguments that point out the American histories of slavery, persecution of Native Americans and mass incarcerations. But Mr. Trump’s policies and China’s growing global power have emboldened Beijing to be more direct in those messages and to highlight what Chinese officials say are the deleterious effects of American foreign policy. Mr. Trump’s constant alienation of international allies, including with the surprise decision to kill Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani in a drone strike last week, helps strengthen China’s arguments, administration critics say. |
| Mr. Trump’s reluctance to address China’s human rights violations has frustrated members of Congress from both parties. On Wednesday, the Congressional-Executive Commission on China released a report in which it called on Mr. Trump to issue a directive ordering a “whole-of-government approach” to develop strategies to promote human rights, the rule of law and democratic governing in dealing with China. | Mr. Trump’s reluctance to address China’s human rights violations has frustrated members of Congress from both parties. On Wednesday, the Congressional-Executive Commission on China released a report in which it called on Mr. Trump to issue a directive ordering a “whole-of-government approach” to develop strategies to promote human rights, the rule of law and democratic governing in dealing with China. |
| The commission, whose annual report documents China’s rights abuses, also called on Mr. Trump to invoke the Global Magnitsky Act and impose sanctions on Chinese officials deemed responsible for the repression of Muslims, many of them members of the Uighur ethnic minority. And it said the United States must limit commerce between American companies and Chinese regional governments, agencies and companies that have taken part in the repression. | The commission, whose annual report documents China’s rights abuses, also called on Mr. Trump to invoke the Global Magnitsky Act and impose sanctions on Chinese officials deemed responsible for the repression of Muslims, many of them members of the Uighur ethnic minority. And it said the United States must limit commerce between American companies and Chinese regional governments, agencies and companies that have taken part in the repression. |
| “Many issues exist in the U.S.-China relationship, but as I have said time and time again, human rights cannot be sidelined in our relationship with China,” Senator Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida and the co-chair of the commission, said at the release of the report on Capitol Hill. “Human rights are intertwined with fundamental principles and rules by which we govern ourselves and shape the world in which we wish to live.” | “Many issues exist in the U.S.-China relationship, but as I have said time and time again, human rights cannot be sidelined in our relationship with China,” Senator Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida and the co-chair of the commission, said at the release of the report on Capitol Hill. “Human rights are intertwined with fundamental principles and rules by which we govern ourselves and shape the world in which we wish to live.” |
| In the room, Uighur Americans who have family members detained in the vast internment camp system in the Xinjiang region of China held up photographs of their missing relatives. | In the room, Uighur Americans who have family members detained in the vast internment camp system in the Xinjiang region of China held up photographs of their missing relatives. |
| Mr. Rubio said the Senate planned to send back to the House within weeks a new version of legislation compelling the Trump administration to take tough action on the repression of Muslims. Lawmakers are aiming to pass a version of the bill with a veto-proof majority, which would most likely force Mr. Trump to sign it. They did the same thing with a bill supporting the Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters last fall, and Mr. Trump reluctantly signed it the night before Thanksgiving. | Mr. Rubio said the Senate planned to send back to the House within weeks a new version of legislation compelling the Trump administration to take tough action on the repression of Muslims. Lawmakers are aiming to pass a version of the bill with a veto-proof majority, which would most likely force Mr. Trump to sign it. They did the same thing with a bill supporting the Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters last fall, and Mr. Trump reluctantly signed it the night before Thanksgiving. |
| In his news conference on Monday, Mr. Pompeo, an evangelical Christian who promotes the idea of religious freedom as a central policy platform, praised the Council of Representatives in Bahrain, an Islamic country, for issuing a statement on Jan. 2 that expressed concern over China’s treatment of Muslims. | In his news conference on Monday, Mr. Pompeo, an evangelical Christian who promotes the idea of religious freedom as a central policy platform, praised the Council of Representatives in Bahrain, an Islamic country, for issuing a statement on Jan. 2 that expressed concern over China’s treatment of Muslims. |
| “We’re happy with what Bahrain did, and we ask all countries, particularly those belonging to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Arab League, to denounce the Chinese Communist Party’s brutal treatment of Uighurs, which is part of the party’s broader war on faith,” Mr. Pompeo said. | “We’re happy with what Bahrain did, and we ask all countries, particularly those belonging to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Arab League, to denounce the Chinese Communist Party’s brutal treatment of Uighurs, which is part of the party’s broader war on faith,” Mr. Pompeo said. |
| Yet the Trump administration has been unable to rally majority Muslim nations in condemning China. For one thing, the travel ban that Mr. Trump imposed against citizens of such nations has fueled notions that his administration is anti-Muslim. But a greater reason is that China has been nurturing economic ties across the Middle East, including with American allies such as Saudi Arabia, while Mr. Trump’s policy, like that of his predecessors, remains focused on military issues and using the armed forces as Washington’s main policy tool in the region. | Yet the Trump administration has been unable to rally majority Muslim nations in condemning China. For one thing, the travel ban that Mr. Trump imposed against citizens of such nations has fueled notions that his administration is anti-Muslim. But a greater reason is that China has been nurturing economic ties across the Middle East, including with American allies such as Saudi Arabia, while Mr. Trump’s policy, like that of his predecessors, remains focused on military issues and using the armed forces as Washington’s main policy tool in the region. |
| His aggressive push on Iran, which reached a new level of hostility with the killing of General Suleimani, has underscored that view of Washington’s policy, though officials argue that the Trump administration was seeking to deter Iran from attacking American interests. | His aggressive push on Iran, which reached a new level of hostility with the killing of General Suleimani, has underscored that view of Washington’s policy, though officials argue that the Trump administration was seeking to deter Iran from attacking American interests. |
| The fact that the strike against General Suleimani took place in Iraq, where the United States has been at war since President George W. Bush invaded the country in 2003, has allowed China to cloak its language on American policy in moral superiority. Mr. Trump ordered 4,500 more troops to the region after the strike. On Thursday, Mr. Geng, the Foreign Ministry spokesman, said senior Chinese and Russian officials had recently discussed the rising regional tensions and had committed to “jointly uphold international justice and regional peace and stability.” | The fact that the strike against General Suleimani took place in Iraq, where the United States has been at war since President George W. Bush invaded the country in 2003, has allowed China to cloak its language on American policy in moral superiority. Mr. Trump ordered 4,500 more troops to the region after the strike. On Thursday, Mr. Geng, the Foreign Ministry spokesman, said senior Chinese and Russian officials had recently discussed the rising regional tensions and had committed to “jointly uphold international justice and regional peace and stability.” |
| Mr. Geng noted that the Trump administration, in withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear deal, “neglected international law and its international obligations” and “obstructed other parties in keeping their commitments.” | Mr. Geng noted that the Trump administration, in withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear deal, “neglected international law and its international obligations” and “obstructed other parties in keeping their commitments.” |
| “Such practices are the root cause of current tensions,” he added. | “Such practices are the root cause of current tensions,” he added. |
| Washington’s European allies would agree with that assessment. Along with China and Russia, they have stayed in the agreement and tried to persuade Iran to do so, despite Washington’s increasing sanctions. To try to get Mr. Trump to lift the sanctions, Iran’s military began taking more forceful action in the region last year, and Tehran announced it was breaching some of the agreement’s limits on its nuclear program, even though it had been abiding by the deal. | Washington’s European allies would agree with that assessment. Along with China and Russia, they have stayed in the agreement and tried to persuade Iran to do so, despite Washington’s increasing sanctions. To try to get Mr. Trump to lift the sanctions, Iran’s military began taking more forceful action in the region last year, and Tehran announced it was breaching some of the agreement’s limits on its nuclear program, even though it had been abiding by the deal. |
| On Sunday, after the killing of General Suleimani, Tehran said it was ending limits on uranium enrichment, though it said it might return to the commitments later. | On Sunday, after the killing of General Suleimani, Tehran said it was ending limits on uranium enrichment, though it said it might return to the commitments later. |
| The prospect of Iran accelerating its nuclear program raises anxiety levels in the region, even in the governments of Israel and gulf Arab countries that criticized the 2015 deal as being beneficial for their enemies in Tehran. And among the nations that foresaw the firestorm that would come with Mr. Trump’s withdrawal from the deal and imposition of sanctions in a “maximum pressure” campaign, Beijing’s admonitions of American policy appear justified. The chaos around the killing of Mr. Suleimani only goes to strengthen China’s arguments. | The prospect of Iran accelerating its nuclear program raises anxiety levels in the region, even in the governments of Israel and gulf Arab countries that criticized the 2015 deal as being beneficial for their enemies in Tehran. And among the nations that foresaw the firestorm that would come with Mr. Trump’s withdrawal from the deal and imposition of sanctions in a “maximum pressure” campaign, Beijing’s admonitions of American policy appear justified. The chaos around the killing of Mr. Suleimani only goes to strengthen China’s arguments. |
| “If the aftermath of this assassination leads to more regional instability with continued confusion about U.S. commitment and objectives, U.S. relations across the region could worsen,” said Dalia Dassa Kaye, an Iran expert at the RAND Corporation, a research group. “We should never discount that people in the region can resent both Iranian and American involvement in the region at the same time.” | “If the aftermath of this assassination leads to more regional instability with continued confusion about U.S. commitment and objectives, U.S. relations across the region could worsen,” said Dalia Dassa Kaye, an Iran expert at the RAND Corporation, a research group. “We should never discount that people in the region can resent both Iranian and American involvement in the region at the same time.” |
| Against that backdrop, China is all too happy to swoop in. | Against that backdrop, China is all too happy to swoop in. |