Trump’s lack of focus on human rights in China is big departure for US diplomacy

May 15, 2026       Comments Off on Trump’s lack of focus on human rights in China is big departure for US diplomacy
Trump’s lack of focus on human rights in China is big departure for US diplomacy

By Amy Hawkins in Beijing

Originally published by The Guardian on May 15, 2026

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/may/16/trumps-lack-of-focus-on-human-rights-in-china-is-big-departure-for-us-diplomacy

Change reflects both transformation of US in Trump era and China’s increasing confidence on world stage

Since Xi Jinping took power in 2012 he has cracked down on civil society. Donald Trump called him a ‘great leader’. Photograph: White House Press Office/APAImages/Shutterstock

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“These are very, very difficult times for human rights defenders,” said Sophie Richardson, the co-executive director of Chinese Human Rights Defenders, an NGO. “I don’t think any democratic government has really kept pace in its interventions with Beijing.”

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