China decries US interference in its affairs, warns of reciprocal sanctions
China has condemned the new travel bans, imposed by the United States against Chinese officials over alleged human rights violations, as interference in its internal affair, warning of reciprocal measures.
The US is expanding travel bans on Chinese officials whom it accuses of being involved in "repressive acts" against Uighur Muslims and other ethnic and religious minority groups, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday.
The statement did not specify the number or the names of the targeted officials.
"The US statement is full of ideological bias and political lies, discrediting China and suppressing Chinese officials for no reason,” China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a regular news briefing on Tuesday.
He stressed that the US decision violates international law, and constitutes a gross interference in China's internal affairs.
"What the United States has done violates international law and norms, and grossly interferes in China's internal affairs," Wang said.
The spokesman asked Washington to immediately revoke the visa curbs or face countermeasures.
The mostly Muslim-Turkic ethnic group of Uighurs, which makes up about 45 percent of the population in Xinjiang region, has long accused China of cultural, religious, and economic discrimination. The US, in particular, spearheads such allegations in the West.
In 2020, a UN human rights panel alleged that up to two million Uighurs had been forced into “political camps for indoctrination” in the autonomous region.
China rejects claims of mistreating the Uighurs, saying it has been taking anti-terrorism measures against separatists in the region who are seeking to join Takfiri outfits such as al-Qaeda.
Beijing describes the camps in Xinjiang as “vocational education and employment training centers,” which are part of its efforts to tackle underdevelopment and a lack of employment in the area.
Relations between the US and China have been marked by heightened tensions in recent years, with clashes on issues like trade, pandemic, and regional interference.
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