China sanctions US lawmaker McGovern for 'interference' in its domestic affairs

BANGKOK -- China sanctioned a United States lawmaker Wednesday for “frequently interfering” in China's domestic affairs.

The sanctions against Rep. Jim McGovern include freezing his assets and properties in China, prohibiting any organization or individual in China from conducting transactions or working with him, and denying him and his family a visa to enter the country, according to a statement from China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

It’s one of several rounds of sanctions against U.S. lawmakers and companies that China has announced as relations have soured between Beijing and Washington.

China previously sanctioned U.S. representative Michael McCaul and ex-representative Michael Gallagher over their support for Taiwan, a self-governed democracy that China claims as its own.

McGovern and McCaul introduced a bill calling for stronger U.S. support for Tibet, a region in China where human rights groups have criticized authorities for the treatment of ethnic Tibetans.

Relations between the U.S. and China have sunk, starting with a trade war in 2018 and then the COVID-19 pandemic. The U.S. has been increasingly critical of China’s human rights record, its handling of the pandemic and its actions towards Taiwan.

China, in response, has accused the U.S. of meddling in its internal affairs and pursuing a containment strategy against China to prevent the country’s rise.