In a parting shot as he prepares to leave office, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused China of a state-sanctioned “genocide” of its Uighur population in the Xinjiang province.
“We are witnessing the systematic attempt to destroy Uighurs by the Chinese party-state,” Pompeo wrote in a statement Tuesday.
The U.S. is now the first state to accuse China of genocide. Such a determination is rare and could prompt the Biden administration to impose even more sanctions on the U.S. rival. Then-Biden campaign spokesperson Andrew Bates said last year that the Chinese Communist Party’s policies amounted to a “genocide.”
After the U.S. announcement, other nations could be prompted to make a similar determination.
“What took so long is when you do something like this, you have to be right,” Pompeo said of the timing on Fox News’ “America Reports” Tuesday. “Indeed, leaders all across the world I think will recognize the United States got this right.”
Pompeo made the determination as…