Could China's aggressive Xinjiang sanctions counter-punch risk alienating the European Union?

When Chinese and Russian officials meet in Beijing this week, one topic of conversation may be the hatred both countries have for the international community's use of sanctions to interfere in what they regard as "internal affairs."

China, at least, will be able to boast of hitting back: following new sanctions announced by the European Union on Monday, Beijing introduced countermeasures against multiple European lawmakers and academics. From China's perspective, such sanctions are only fair, a tit-for-tat response that sends a message to the domestic audience that Beijing will not take such challenges laying down. But they're also a gamble that European policymakers will see the punitive measures as a piece of theater, not aggression, and will be willing to look past the designation of some of their colleagues, in continuing to build economic ties with Beijing.