Washington calls China’s tit-for-tat sanctions ‘baseless’

Washington said punitive actions levelled by China on Friday against six individuals and an entity in the US are the latest in a string of “baseless” sanctions that demonstrate how Beijing punishes non-official players and shows its isolation from the global community. Beijing’s latest tit-for-tat salvo, in retaliation for earlier sanctions imposed by Washington on officials from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) over Hong Kong, is likely to increase tensions between the two nations ahead of an upcoming visit by US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman to Tianjin.