Global Times editor-in-chief Hu Xijin said the West “does not represent the world”, after the United States, the European Union, Britain and Canada joined forces for the first time to impose sanctions on Chinese officials over human rights abuses of Uighurs in Xinjiang on Monday.

The vocal editor of Beijing’s mouthpiece blasted the unprecedented move on Weibo on Tuesday.

He said the U.S., Britain, Canada and the E.U. are clearly working together to create an atmosphere of unity in a bid to exert pressure on China, which he described as “hilarious” and “bluffing.”

The four individuals and one organization on the sanction list clearly had no links to the West, Hu noted, adding that “only those who think too highly of themselves would be addicted to such silly games.”

Hu urged his followers not to be misled into thinking that “the whole world is sanctioning China,” as the alliance “does not represent the world” and China has been a main trading partner of the E.U.

Meanwhile, he praised Beijing for its “swift and fierce” tit-for-tat countermeasures, which slapped sanctions on 10 European individuals and four entities that have “spread rumors and lies about Xinjiang.” Among them is the Mercator Institute for China Studies in Germany, which Hu said severing its ties with China would block its research channels and therefore deal a huge blow to its influence.

“We will retaliate against anyone who encroaches on the interest or interferes in the internal affairs of China,” Hu doubled down.

Chinese media Duowei News also published a commentary, stating that any measures intending to pressure China to yield would be “useless.”

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