Beijing (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – China on Monday expressed its strong opposition to US President Donald Trump’s move to establish a blacklist of countries that Washington claims unjustly detain Americans. The US administration has indicated that China could be among those countries.
In an executive order signed on Friday, Donald Trump announced that the United States will now designate “state sponsors of wrongful detention,” similar to how countries are labelled as state sponsors of terrorism, as a new tool for penalising such states.
As reported, the Trump administration initially did not specify the countries to be added to the new blacklist, but a senior official indicated that China, Iran, and Afghanistan would be
evaluated because they “persistently participate in hostage diplomacy.”
How has China responded to Trump’s executive order?
Beijing’s foreign ministry criticised the new blacklist on Monday and stated that it “firmly opposed” it.
“China is a country governed by the rule of law, and there is absolutely no question of so-called wrongful detention,”
Spokesman Lin Jian told reporters at a regular briefing.
“As is known to all, wrongful detention, arbitrary detention, coercive diplomacy, long-arm jurisdiction and unilateral sanctions are all the monopolies of the United States,”
Lin said.
He also said:
“China, as always, welcomes citizens and enterprises from all countries to visit and conduct business in China.”
What penalties would designated countries on the blacklist face?
Countries designated by the State Department would face sanctions and US export controls, and officials involved in the imprisonment would be prevented from entering. In an uncommon move by the United States, officials stated that the State Department might prohibit US citizens from travelling to countries on the blacklist.
How did the Biden administration handle detainee releases in China?
During former President Joe Biden’s administration, China released three American citizens who were wrongfully detained in a situation that appeared to be a negotiated prisoner exchange.
The Americans who were released are Mark Swidan, a Texas businessman arrested in 2012 on purported drug-related charges; Kai Li, who since 2016 has been detained on espionage charges; and John Leung, who in 2023 was sentenced to life imprisonment on spying allegations. Their releases came after several months of diplomatic negotiations led by the Biden administration, which included the transfer of Chinese nationals who were detained in the United States.
