Genocide claim ‘lie of the century’ says China in double serve for Europe
- Beijing hits back at EU on two fronts with a blast at human rights criticism and the bloc’s new trade strategy
- Cracks in relations have appeared just months after the comprehensive investment deal which has yet to be ratified
The Chinese commerce ministry said on Friday that the European Commission’s trade policy strategy, released last week, was wrong to call China’s economic model of market capitalism and state intervention a challenge to the global order.
“Blaming the crisis facing the World Trade Organization on China not becoming a market economy is a baseless claim, we resolutely oppose it,” the ministry said in a statement.
On the same day, China’s foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin criticised the EU for pressing Beijing to give greater access to Xinjiang. Up to one million Uygur ethic minorities in the remote western region have reportedly been detained in political re-education camps, which China describes as vocational training.
“China welcomes and has invited the EU and embassies of member-states several times to visit Xinjiang … but it’s a shame the EU has repeatedly delayed and deliberately complicated the issue, time and time again making unreasonable requests,” Wang said.
“[The EU] even asked to meet with criminals that had been lawfully convicted of separatist activities … this appears to be a slighting of Chinese law, a provocative attempt at interfering in China’s legal sovereignty.”
Wang went on to address yesterday’s decision by the Dutch parliament to designate China’s policies in Xinjiang as “genocide”. The Netherlands is the first EU member-state to officially use the loaded term to describe the repression of ethnic minorities in China.
