China is urging the United States to unconditionally lift visa restrictions on Communist Party of China members and their families, sanctions on Chinese leaders, officials and government agencies
Xie Feng, China’s deputy foreign minister, said this on Monday during talks in Tianjin with visiting U.S. Undersecretary of State Wendy Sherman.
Xie Feng said Beijing is also demanding that visa restrictions for Chinese students be lifted. The Chinese government has been pressing Washington to stop putting pressure on Chinese companies in the US, as well as Confucius Institutes, training centres that teach Chinese language and culture.
In addition, Xie Feng called on the US side to cancel the mandatory registration of Chinese media outlets as foreign agents and to refuse to deport the detained Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou from Canada to the US.
Sino-US relations deteriorated significantly when former President Donald Trump led the White House (2017-2021). Washington repeatedly imposed sanctions against Chinese officials, agencies and companies on the pretext of human rights violations in Hong Kong and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the PRC.
US authorities have also announced restrictive measures against Chinese students, academics and journalists, as well as organisations in the United States allegedly involved in espionage or linked to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. Economic sanctions have affected a number of Chinese technology companies, notably Huawei. Its chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, is facing deportation to the US on charges of fraud and violating US anti-Iran sanctions.