China on Wednesday expressed strong opposition and condemnation to the United States for banning imports from another three Chinese companies over the so-called forced labor allegations, vowing that it would continue taking resolute measures to defend the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies.
“The US once again fabricates and spreads false narratives regarding the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region and imposes illegal sanctions on Chinese firms under the guise of human rights,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said at a news briefing on Wednesday.
China has said multiple times that facts and data prove that claims of “forced labor” and “genocide” are completely groundless and are lies of the century, which are fabricated by a very small number of anti-China elements, aiming to sow discord in Xinjiang, smear China and hinder the nation’s development.
Lin said the US, in essence, is attempting to create “forced unemployment” in Xinjiang by using human rights as a pretext to infringe upon the rights to life, employment and development of the vast number of people in Xinjiang.
“The sinister intentions of ‘containing China by using Xinjiang’ are clear for all to see,” he said.
Washington has in recent years in the name of human rights arbitrarily imposed unilateral sanctions concerning economic and trade issues on China, which has been met with strong countermeasures by Beijing.
Lin slammed the US for using lies as a basis and putting Chinese companies on relevant sanction lists, saying such moves severely interfere with China’s internal affairs.
They also disrupt normal market order and flagrantly violate international trade rules and basic norms of international relations, he added.
Lin urged the US to immediately cease its smears against China, lift the illegal and unilateral sanctions on Chinese companies and refrain from harming the country’s interests.
As the US is faced with a sea of domestic problems, Lin said if the US truly cares about human rights, it should take measures to effectively address internal malaises, rather than meddle in internal affairs of and impose sanctions on other countries.