
United States President Donald Trump refrained from imposing tougher sanctions on Chinese officials blamed for a violent crackdown on Uighur Muslims in Xingjian province because of concern such measures would have interfered with trade negotiations with China.
"Well, we were in the middle of a major trade deal. And I made a great deal, $250 billion potentially worth of purchases,” Trump was quoted as telling Axios on Friday when asked why he had not enacted Treasury sanctions against Communist Party officials linked to repression in the Xinjiang region.
The United Nations estimates that more than a million Muslims have been detained in camps there. The State Department has accused China of subjecting Muslims to torture and abuse.
China has denied mistreatment and says the camps provide vocational training and help fight extremism.
Under a Phase 1 trade deal negotiated in 2019 that took effect in February, China agreed to buy at least $200 billion in additional US goods and services over two years.
Former national security adviser John Bolton alleged in his new book that Trump sought Chinese President Xi Jinping's help to win re-election during a 2019 meeting by making agricultural purchases, and Trump also encouraged Xi to go ahead with building camps in Xinjiang.
Trump has denied the accusations.
(With inputs from Reuters)