Name: U.S. declares China's actions against Uighurs "genocide"
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U.S. declares China's actions against Uighurs "genocide"

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A protester in London. Photo Hasan Esen/Anadolu Agency via GettyWith just one day left in President Trump's term, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has officially determined that China's campaign of mass internment, forced labor and forced sterilization of over 1 million Muslim minorities in Xinjiang constitutes "genocide" and "crimes against humanity."Why it matters: The U.S. has become the first country to adopt these terms to describe the Chinese Communist Party's gross human rights abuses in its far northwest.What they're saying: "After careful examination of the available facts, I have determined that since at least March 2017, the People’s Republic of China (PRC), under the direction and control of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), has committed crimes against humanity against the predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and other members of ethnic and religious minority groups in Xinjiang," Pompeo said in a statement, adding in a second determination that the CCP has also committed "genocide" there.The latest: During his confirmation hearing Tuesday, President-elect Biden's nominee for secretary of state, Tony Blinken, said he agrees with the determination that China is committing "genocide" in Xinjiang.Details: Pompeo said "these crimes are ongoing" and include:Context: Late last year, Pompeo an internal review, to be overseen by Morse Tan, U.S. ambassador-at-large for the Office of Global Criminal Justice, to determine whether China's actions in Xinjiang constituted genocide and crimes against humanity.What to watch: Though the U.S. is the first country to make this determination, senior administration officials expressed hope that other countries may soon follow suit.Background: China's northwest region of Xinjiang is home to around 11 million Uighurs and several other Muslim-minority ethnic groups who have long faced severe religious and cultural repression at the hands of the Chinese Communist Party. Go deeper: This story has been updated with comments from Tony Blinken.President Trump began his term by launching the trade war with China he had promised on the campaign trail. By mid-2020, however, Trump was no longer the public face of China policy-making as he became increasingly consumed with domestic troubles, giving his top aides carte blanche to pursue a cascade of tough-on-China policies.Why it matters: Trump alone did not reshape the China relationship. But his trade war shattered global norms, paving the way for administration officials to pursue policies that just a few years earlier would have been unthinkable.Early indicators suggest the Biden administration may continue to pursue a robust China strategy that reaches across multiple government departments and agencies.Why it matters: Though the Trump administration's approach to China was often controversial, there is broad bipartisan agreement that China poses a major challenge to U.S. interests and values.John Demers, the assistant attorney general at the Department of Justice's National Security Division who leads the department's China Initiative, spoke with Axios about his view on the initiative's progress since its launch in 2018 and what he hopes to see in the coming year as Biden assumes office.The big picture: The China Initiative made headlines with dozens of major indictments but also sparked controversy over its targeting of scientists with links to the Chinese government.

A protester in London. Photo Hasan Esen/Anadolu Agency via GettyWith just one day left in President Trump's term, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has officially determined that China's campaign of mass internment, forced labor and forced sterilization of over 1 million Muslim minorities in Xinjiang constitutes "genocide" and "crimes against humanity."Why it matters: The U.S. has become the first country to adopt these terms to describe the Chinese Communist Party's gross human rights abuses in its far northwest.What they're saying: "After careful examination of the available facts, I have...

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Bethany is the China reporter at Axios. She is the author of the weekly Axios China newsletter, and she covers Beijing's influence and intentions.

https://www.axios.com/authors/baebrahimian

Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian

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U.S. declares China's actions against Uighurs "genocide"

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