The United States marked International Human Rights Day Friday with the announcement of sanctions on dozens of people and entities tied to rights abuses in China, Myanmar, North Korea and Bangladesh, while blacklisting a Chinese artificial intelligence company. The financial and visa sanctions came on the final day of President Joe Biden's virtual Summit for Democracy, where he unveiled policies to bolster democracy against threats around the world and appealed for solidarity among some 100 participants. "On International Human Rights Day, Treasury is using its tools to expose and hold accountable perpetrators of serious human rights abuse," Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo said in a statement. "Our actions today, particularly those in partnership with the United Kingdom and Canada, send a message that democracies around the world will act against those who abuse the power of the state to inflict suffering and repression," he added. The sanctions on China slapped a U.S. visa ban on the current and previous chairmen of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China (XUAR), Erken Tuniyaz and Shohrat Zakir, and came a day after a tribunal in London found that Chinese policies in the region constituted genocide.

Washington – The United States on Friday imposed extensive human rights-related sanctions on dozens of people and entities tied to China, Myanmar, North Korea and Bangladesh, and added Chinese artificial intelligence company SenseTime Group to an investment blacklist. Canada and the United Kingdom joined the United States in imposing sanctions related to human rights abuses in Myanmar, while Washington also imposed the first new sanctions on North Korea under President Joe Biden's administration and targeted Myanmar military entities, among others, in action marking Human Rights Day. "Our actions today, particularly those in partnership with the United Kingdom and Canada, send a message that democracies around the world will act against those who abuse the power of the state to inflict suffering and repression," Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said in a statement. China's embassy in Washington denounced the U.S. move as "serious interference in China's internal affairs" and a "severe violation of basic norms governing international relations." Embassy spokesman Liu Pengyu said it would do "grave harm to China-U.S. relations" and urged Washington to rescind the decision.