OREANDA-NEWS. Beijing imposed sanctions on four US lawmakers in retaliation for previously introduced visa and financial restrictions on four former and current Chinese officials by Washington.

This was announced on July 13 by Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying. “The actions of the American side are gross interference in the internal affairs of China, they flagrantly violate the basic principles of international relations and cause serious damage to Sino-American relations. The Chinese side strongly condemns this. In response to unlawful actions of the American side, China decided to impose sanctions on the US Ambassador for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback, senators Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, as well as Congressman Chris Smith,” the diplomat said. “We urge the US side to immediately cancel its erroneous decision and stop any actions that interfere with China’s internal affairs and are directed against its interests. We will continue to respond to such actions,” Hua Chunying added.