U.S. sanctions Chinese officials, citing repression in Hong Kong and Tibet

The U.S. State Department imposed sanctions Monday on Chinese officials, citing a continuing political crackdown in Hong Kong—and efforts to extend that repression to people in the U.S.—and restrictions on access to Tibet.

The sanctions are the first of Trump’s current term on officials who handle Hong Kong policy, signaling an appetite in the new administration for an approach to China that places a priority on human rights concerns. The Biden administration and the first Trump administration previously levied penalties on dozens of top Hong Kong officials including the city’s current chief executive, John Lee, and his predecessor, Carrie Lam.

The six officials sanctioned on Monday included Raymond Siu, the Hong Kong police commissioner, and Paul Lam, the city’s justice secretary. The penalties include the freezing of assets in the U.S. and blocks on use of the U.S. banking system, which often makes it difficult to use international banks.

The sanctions “demonstrate the Trump Administration’s commitment to hold to account those responsible for depriving people in Hong Kong of protected rights and freedoms or who commit acts of transnational repression on U.S. soil or against U.S. persons,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.

Hong Kong imposed a sweeping national security law in 2020 following a year of large antigovernment protests across the city, a former British colony that had been promised 50 years of a “high degree of autonomy” upon its return to China in 1997.

Trump’s overall strategy for China remains unclear, as he has de-emphasized human rights while imposing tariffs and focusing on trade imbalances. Rubio by contrast is a longstanding China hawk who was himself sanctioned by Beijing in retaliation for previous U.S. actions against Chinese officials.

Many frictions remain in the U.S.-China relationship including Taiwan, the self-ruled island claimed by Beijing. China’s military said it was launching a new round of military drills near Taiwan on Tuesday as a warning to its president, Lai Ching-te, who has accused Beijing of hostile intentions.

Trump is also likely to include China in a new round of tariff increases this week, although details have yet to be revealed. Deals for a BlackRock-led consortium to acquire ports controlled by Hong Kong company CK Hutchison, including two near the Panama Canal, and for TikTok’s Chinese parent ByteDance to sell the short-video app to a non-Chinese buyer, both face deadlines this week.

The new sanctions on Monday add human rights concerns into the mix.

Hong Kong’s security law has been used to target pro-democracy Hong Kong activists, including some in the U.S., U.K. and Australia. The Hong Kong authorities have offered bounties for some of the exiled activists accused of violating the security law.

“Many of us have endured relentless pressure and threats,” Frances Hui, a Hong Kong activist who was granted asylum in the U.S. in 2022, said in a statement in response to the sanctions announced Monday. In December 2023, the Hong Kong government announced a $128,000 bounty for her and four other exiled activists, following similar rewards for eight others.

The Chinese government denounced the latest sanctions. “This is a gross interference in China’s internal affairs and Hong Kong affairs, and a serious violation of international law and basic norms governing international relations,” China’s embassy in Washington said in a statement.

The Hong Kong government said the sanctions “clearly exposed the U.S.’s barbarity under its hegemony, which is exactly the same as its recent tactics in bullying and coercing various countries and regions.”

The State Department didn’t name the officials penalized with visa restrictions for limiting access to Tibet. The U.S. considers visa information to be confidential and doesn’t typically release the names of officials who are barred from traveling to the U.S.

Write to Austin Ramzy at austin.ramzy@wsj.com