The US imposed extensive human rights-related sanctions on dozens of people and entities tied to China, Myanmar, North Korea and Bangladesh and added to the investment blacklist of Chinese artificial intelligence company SenseTime Group.
Canada and the United Kingdom joined the United States in imposing sanctions related to human rights abuses in Myanmar, while Washington imposed the first new sanctions on North Korea under President Joe Biden's administration and targeted Myanmar military entities in action on Human Rights Day.
Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said that 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 cause suffering and repression.
China's embassy in Washington denounced the U.S. move as serious interference in China's internal affairs and a violation of basic norms governing international relations. Embassie spokesman Liu Pengyu said it would do grave harm to China-U. S. relations urged Washington to rescind the decision.
The North Korean mission at the UN and the Washington embassies of Myanmar and Bangladesh did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
The measures are the latest in a raft of sanctions that are scheduled to coincide with the two-day virtual summit for Democracy in Biden, where he announced initiatives to bolster democracy around the world and support for pro-democracy legislation in the United States.
Biden said on Friday that commitments made by some of the more than 100 world leaders would push back against rising autocracy around the world, fight corruption and promote human rights.
The Treasury added Chinese artificial intelligence company SenseTime to a list of Chinese military-industrial complex companies on Friday, accusing it of having developed facial recognition programs that can determine a target's ethnicity, with a focus on identifying ethnic Uyghurs.
The investment ban on the company will be lifted for U.S. investors. Two people with direct knowledge of the matter said that SenseTime is close to selling 1.5 billion shares in an initial public offering IPO. The company began discussing the fate of the planned $767 million offering with Hong Kong's stock exchange after news of the Treasury restrictions earlier this week.
SenseTime said on Saturday that it strongly opposed the designation and accusations that have been made in connection with it, calling the accusations unfounded. We have complied with the applicable laws and regulations in relation to our business in all material respects in the jurisdictions where we conduct business.
The Treasury said it was imposing sanctions on two Myanmar military entities and an organization that provides reserves for the military. The Directorate of Defense Industries, one of the entities targeted by the military and police, makes weapons for the military and police that have been used in a brutal crackdown on opponents of the Feb. 1 coup.
The Treasury targeted four regional chief ministers, including Myo Swe Win, who heads the junta s administration in the Bago region, where the Treasury said at least 82 people were killed in a single day in April.
Canada imposed sanctions against four entities affiliated with the Myanmar military government, while the United Kingdom imposed new sanctions against the military.
Myanmar was plunged into a crisis when military overthrew leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her government on February 1, triggering daily protests in towns and cities and fighting in borderlands between the military and ethnic minority insurgents.
More than 1,300 people have been killed by junta forces trying to crush opposition, according to the Aid Association for Political Prisoners AAPP monitoring group.
Global Witness said the measures fell short of targeting Myanmar's natural gas industry, a key source of foreign currency for the junta, and were unlikely to materially impact the military junta's bottom line. The Treasury has also blacklisted North Korea's Central Public Prosecutors Office, along with the former Minister of Social Security and recently assigned Minister of People's Armed Forces Ri Yong Gil. It also targeted a Russian university for facilitating the export of workers from North Korea.
North Korea has long sought a lifting of sanctions against the U.S. and international sanctions imposed over its weapons programs and denounced U.S. criticism of its human rights record as evidence of a hostile policy against it.
The Biden administration has repeatedly called for North Korea to engage in dialogue over its nuclear and missile programs, without success.