China vows to retaliate over Washington ban on Communist Party

China has said it will retaliate against US officials and institutions following Washington’s imposition of sanctions on three local officials of the ruling Communist Party over human rights abuses in the north-western region of Xinjiang.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said China would “definitely fight back” against actions it considers interference in its internal affairs and that which threaten its sovereignty, security and development interests.

Mr Zhao said China “strongly opposes and condemns” the Trump administration’s decision to bar the three officials from entering the US. It is the latest in a series of moves taken against China as relations deteriorate over the coronavirus pandemic, human rights, Hong Kong and trade.

“In response to the wrong practiceoftheus,chinadecided to take reciprocal measures against the relevant US institutions and individuals who performed badly on the Xinjiangrelated issues,” Mr Zhao said.

The US administration’s announcement comes a day after it slapped visa bans on Chinese officials deemed responsible for barring foreigners’ access to Tibet.

Thursday’s step, however, hits a more senior level of leadership, targeting Chen Quanguo, Xinjiang’s ranking leader and a member of the party’s Politburo, along with regional security officials Zhu Hailun and Wang Mingshan.

They and their immediate family members are banned from entering the United States.

The sanctions were announced a week after an investigation showed forced population control of the Uighurs and other largely Muslim minorities – one of the reasons cited by the State Department for the sanctions

“The United States will not stand idly by as the Chinese Communist Party carries out humanrightsabusestargeting Uighurs, ethnic Kazakhs and members of other minority groups in Xinjiang, to include forced labor, arbitrary mass detention, and forced population control, and attempts to erase their culture and Muslim faith,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement.

China has detained an estimated one million or more members of its Muslim ethnic minority groups in internment camps. These camps have been described by the government as vocational training facilities aimed at countering Muslim radicalism and separatist tendencies. China says those facilities have since been closed – a claim impossible to deny given the restrictions on visits and reporting about the region.

Camp veterans and family members say those held are forced, often with the threat of violence, to denounce their religion, culture and language.