Newsom defends failure to address human rights abuses with China’s Xi Jinping

Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) defended not discussing human rights abuses by China during a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday.

“I can’t be everything to everybody every moment of every minute of every day,” he told reporters when questioned on not bringing up the subject to Xi.

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The California governor said he discussed the matter with China’s foreign minister in “very direct and honest ways.”

China has been criticized for detaining over a million Uyghurs, a Muslim and Turkic-speaking ethnic group, in the Xinjiang region, where they are reportedly in reeducation camps. The claims of genocide and poor conditions have been denied by China.

Newsom has been focusing on climate change during his trip and discussing how California and China can work together to address the matter. The governor said that while human rights matters weren’t addressed in his meeting with Xi, climate and fentanyl were the main topics.

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Before his previously planned trip to China, Newsom made a brief and impromptu stop in Israel, following Gov. Kathy Hochul’s (D-NY) lead. While in Israel, where Newsom visited victims and families at a medical center, he was asked if he met with Israeli leaders such as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Newsom responded, “I wish I was president of the United States,” which he clarified was a joke. “I could start doing all those things.”