US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly used a diplomatic workaround during his visit to Beijing with US President Donald Trump, despite remaining under Chinese sanctions since 2020.
According to AFP, Rubio entered China under the name "Marco Lu", leading to widespread curiosity over how the senior US official was able to travel to the country despite the existing ban.
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Why China sanctioned Rubio
Per a report by Hindustan Times, China imposed sanctions on Rubio in 2020 over his criticism of Beijing’s treatment of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang. During his time as a Republican Senator, Rubio repeatedly accused the Chinese Communist Party of human rights abuses against the minority community.
AFP, citing diplomats, reported that the sanctions are linked specifically to the spelling of Rubio’s name. As part of the workaround, his surname was reportedly changed to “Lu”, a Chinese rendering used during the visit.
“The sanctions target Rubio’s words and deeds when he served as a US senator concerning China,” a spokesperson of the Chinese embassy in the US said, per HT report.
So far, the White House has not commented publicly on the reports.
Rubio’s remarks on Uyghurs
Rubio has long been one of Beijing’s strongest critics in US politics. He has accused China of carrying out a “genocide” against Uyghur Muslims, allegations that China has consistently denied.
In an NPR interview cited by HT, Rubio said, “If I told you that somewhere on this planet over a million people have been incarcerated and have had to undergo what they sort of - efforts to strip them of their identity, their faith. You would say, that’s an outrage."
In a 2021 video statement, he added, "The Chinese Communist Party is committing atrocities against Uyghurs and other ethnic groups in Xinjiang. More than one million Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims are detained in camps and subjected to forced labor. Uyghur women have been victims of rape, sexual violence, forced sterilization, and forced abortions."
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Trump’s China visit under spotlight
Trump arrived in Beijing on Wednesday as part of a closely watched diplomatic visit. He is scheduled to visit Beijing’s Great Hall of the People and hold a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Speaking to reporters, Trump said he planned to discuss “a lot of different things” during the trip. The visit comes amid growing global attention on economic tensions linked to the Iran war and China’s oil imports from Iran.
