Conflict is unavoidable, because it is inevitable that a rich authoritarian country with a population of 1.4 billion people will assertively advance its will

Column

EU's peddler politics

EU & the World

Opinion

by Jonathan Holslag, Brussels,

The European Council at last decided to sanction China for human rights violations in the autonomous region of Xinjiang.

They are insufficient.

They only target the executers of Chinese policy: four low-ranking local officials, one even retired, and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.

The masterminds of the mass-imprisonment of Uighurs in Beijing, the large international companies that are indirectly benefitting from the forced labour stay out of sight.

Get EU news that matters

Back our independent journalism by becoming a supporting member

Already a member? Login here

EU & the World Opinion Column

Disclaimer

The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s, not those of EUobserver

Author Bio

Jonathan Holslag teaches international politics at the Free University of Brussels.

On Biden's China policy

Why is new EU trade policy using WTO as a figleaf?

US economic nationalism will be subtler - but it will persist

Conflict is unavoidable, because it is inevitable that a rich authoritarian country with a population of 1.4 billion people will assertively advance its will