Beijing denounced the "grim plans" of the United States, following the visa restrictions announced by Washington against Chinese officials over allegations of human rights violations in the Chinese province of Xinjiang.
The attitude of the United States regarding the situation in Xinjiang "will only further expose their sinister designs to the Chinese people and the international community," China's foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said.
On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that Washington imposed the visa restrictions "on Chinese government and Communist Party officials who are believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, the detention or abuse of Uighurs, Kazakhs, or other members of Muslim minority groups in Xinjiang."
Pompeo accused Beijing of leading a "campaign to erase religion and culture in Xinjiang."
Earlier, the US added 28 Chinese security agencies and companies said to be involved in the "crackdown" on Muslims in the Xinjiang province to the list restricting licenses needed to trade with the United States.
The historically Muslim Xinjiang was conquered by the Qing Empire in the 1750s, when the Chinese troops destroyed the Dzungar Khanate. The region went through several bloody revolts and proclaimed independence as the East Turkistan Republic following the 1911-1912 Xinhai Revolution that toppled the Qing Dynasty. In 1949, the recently established People’s Republic of China restored control over Xinjiang, which has been mired in a simmering conflict since then.
