China announced sanctions on the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosifor her historic trip to Taiwan this week, making her the highest-ranking US official designated to receive sanctions from Beijing.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry announced unspecified sanctions against Pelosi and her immediate family after the speaker left Japan on Friday night. Earlier, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a regular news conference that tensions over Taiwan this week had been “entirely caused by President Pelosi and US politicians.”
China did not specify what the sanctions entailed, but previous measures have restricted people from entering China, Hong Kong or Macau, or doing business there. Such curbs are likely to be largely symbolic for Pelosi.
Washington has so far resisted sanctioning Pelosi’s Chinese legislative leader counterpart and number 3 official in the line of succession, Li Zhanshu, for her central role in the imposition of the national security law in Hong Kong in 2020. Wang Chen, deputy chairman of the legislature and a member of the 25-member Politburo, is the highest-ranking Chinese official facing US sanctions.
Last year, Beijing sanctioned former US Secretary of State, Michael Pompeo, just as President Joe Biden and his administration took office. Pompeo only visited Taiwan after leaving the government and being sanctioned by China.
In 1979, the United States formally recognized the government in Beijing and cut ties with Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its territory, as part of a commitment to “one China”. Beijing sees Pelosi’s visit as the latest in a series of steps to “empty” that deal.
China said earlier this week that Pelosi’s position as second in line to the presidential succession made her trip very sensitive. Beijing has responded to her trip with unprecedented military exercises around Taiwanincluding launching missiles at sea and crossing the median line dividing the Taiwan Strait.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said China had chosen to “overreact” to Pelosi’s trip and use it as a pretext to engage in provocative military activities.