China responds to US criticism with visa bans

China said yesterday it had barred entry to US senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, representative Chris Smith and Sam Brownback, the ambassador for religious freedom, for their criticism of the ruling Communist Party’s policies towards minority groups and people of faith. Foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the US had “seriously damaged China-US relations” and that China would uphold its sovereignty against what it called interference in its internal affairs. The bans appear to be retaliation for the US imposition of sanctions on four Chinese officials, including Chen Quanguo. Mr Chen runs the Xinjiang region, where more than one million members of Muslim minority groups have been incarcerated.