Concerns John Kerry downplayed China human rights abuses to deal on climate

House Republicans are raising concerns about John Kerry, President Biden’s special climate envoy, over recent remarks he made on reaching a potential climate deal with China — saying he trivialized the severity of the human rights abuses inflicted on Uyghur Muslims in the communist country. 

The criticisms of Kerry’s rhetoric come in the wake of his recent interview with Foreign Policy, where he said: “We have differences on economic rules, on cyber. We have other differences on human rights, geostrategic interests, but those differences do not have to get in the way of something that is as critical as dealing with climate.”  Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have repeatedly condemned China’s forced labor camps, which have targeted Uyghur Muslims in China’s Xinjiang region, with Congress having moved on multiple resolutions aimed at pushing back against the abuses.