Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said in a statement late Friday (Sept. 11) that China has recently issued a diplomatic note stating that it will take “reciprocal” restrictive measures against U.S. diplomats and all their staff at U.S. embassies and consulates in China, including the U.S. Consulate General in Hong Kong.
The Chinese statement, however, did not list the specific restrictions.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued a statement on September 3 on the U.S. State Department website entitled “Advancing U.S.-China Peer-to-Peer Diplomacy,” listing the various restrictions China has imposed on U.S. diplomats.
The State Department said in the statement that under these new rules, the U.S. will impose the same restrictions on the activities of Chinese diplomats in the U.S., including that senior Chinese diplomats must be approved by the U.S. government before they can visit U.S. university campuses or meet with state and local government officials, and that Chinese embassies and consulates in the U.S. must seek U.S. approval to hold cultural events with more than 50 people in foreign countries.
Zhao Lijian said at a regular press conference that the U.S. approach is a serious violation of international law and the basic norms of international relations, and undermines U.S.-China relations and normal exchanges between the two countries.
The Chinese side’s move is a legitimate and necessary response to the U.S. side’s wrongdoing, Zhao said. China once again urged the U.S. side to immediately correct its mistakes and withdraw the relevant unreasonable practices, and China will respond reciprocally based on the U.S. side’s actions.
According to the Bloomberg report, the Chinese sanctions appear to be of little significance compared to the U.S. sanctions against China’s technology and financial industries.
Since July, China has announced sanctions against more than a dozen Americans, but none of them, including Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida and Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas (R-TX), have been notified of the punitive measures.
Bloomberg says that according to industry analysts, the sanctions imposed by Beijing on Lockheed Martin for selling weapons systems to Taiwan will have minimal impact on Loma.
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