Stein serves on the legislative body created by Congress to monitor human rights and the development of the rule of law in China and provide an annual report to lawmakers and the president.
His background includes the International Campaign for Tibet, where he worked as director of government relations, before taking up a role in 2014 as senior adviser to Sarah Sewall, US under secretary of state for civilian security, democracy and human rights.
Stein also served as Sewell’s lead staffer in her dual role as special coordinator for Tibetan issues.
The two men will have their assets within Chinese territory frozen, and neither they nor their immediate family members will be issued visas or allowed to enter the country.
Organisations and individuals in China are also prohibited from conducting transactions with Yu and Stein, according to the order signed by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, with immediate effect.
The decision, made under China’s anti-foreign sanctions law, makes specific mention of sanctions imposed by the US on December 9 against Wu Yingjie, Communist Party chief in Tibet between 2016 and 2021, and Zhang Hongbo, a senior public security official in the region, for alleged human rights abuses.
