The United States has significantly increased its sanctions designations on Chinese individuals, entities, and ships in 2020. While the United States has imposed sanctions on Chinese entities and individuals for many years, these past actions were usually part of sanctions regimes that targeted other states, such as Chinese companies trading with North Korea or Iran, or non-state actors, like criminals and drug traffickers. However, as U.S.-China relations have deteriorated over the course of 2020, the United States has directly targeted Chinese entities and individuals with sanctions. This includes naming Chinese officials associated with systemic human rights abuses and territorial aggression in the region. While the bulk of currently sanctioned Chinese individuals and companies are still primarily linked to China’s facilitation of activities from other countries, recent targeting has shifted sharply to focus on China more directly.
https://www.cnas.org/publications/reports/sanctions-by-the-numbers-2
