The American business community is determined not to comment on the crackdown in Xinjiang — atrocities the U.S. government has deemed a genocide. But how long can their silence last?
Listen to SupChina editor-at-large and Sinica podcast host Kaiser Kuo read this article.
About halfway through the four-hour confirmation hearing for Antony Blinken, President-elect Joe Biden’s nominee for Secretary of State, Senator Lindsey Graham let out a sigh of relief. Earlier that day — the last full day of Donald Trump’s presidency — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had called China’s actions against ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang region a genocide. It was a significant announcement — this is only the sixth time in history the U.S. has determined a genocide is taking place — and Senator Graham, an ally of the Trump administration, was testing Blinken on whether or not he agreed with the designation.
“That would be my judgment as well,” Blinken said. “You do agree?” Graham asked again. “Yes,” said Blinken, unflinchingly.
“We’re off to a good start here,” Graham then said, laughing. Later on in the hearings, Blinken explain
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Robert Lighthizer, the U.S. Trade Representative under Donald Trump, reflects on his decision to launch the trade war with China and begin the process of "strategic decoupling" — a process he says the U.S. must see through to the end.
