More reciprocal sanctions to hit US

China will take reciprocal countermeasures against United States organizations and individuals who have behaved egregiously on Xinjiang-related issues, the Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian made the remark after the US on Thursday sanctioned one Chinese government entity and four current or former government officials in connection with "serious rights abuses" against ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

The US decision represents serious interference in China's domestic affairs and is deeply detrimental to bilateral relations, Zhao said at a daily news briefing.

Details of the sanctions will be released soon, Zhao said.

China strongly opposes and deplores such wrong practices, he said, adding that the US has no right and is not in a position to interfere in Xinjiang affairs.

"We urge the US to withdraw the wrong decision and stop making remarks and taking actions that interfere in China's internal affairs and harm China's interests," he said.

Despite China's opposition, US President Donald Trump last month signed into law the so-called Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020.

The Chinese government is determined to defend its national sovereignty, security and development interests, combat terrorism, separatism and extremist forces, and oppose any external forces' interference in the country's internal affairs, Zhao said.

This is the third time this month that China has announced countermeasures to erroneous US actions targeting China as the Sino-US relationship worsens due to their disputes on various issues.

China on Wednesday decided to impose visa restrictions on US individuals engaging in egregious conduct on issues related to the Tibet autonomous region. The action was in response to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's announcement of visa restrictions on the Chinese government and some officials pursuant to the Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act of 2018.

In response to the US labeling four additional Chinese media outlets as foreign missions, China demanded earlier this month that four US news organizations provide the government with information about their staff, finances and real estate holdings inside the country.

Also on Friday, Zhao rebutted Pompeo's remarks regarding the World Health Organization sending experts to Beijing to discuss tracing the origin of the novel coronavirus.

In a briefing with reporters on Wednesday, Pompeo called it great that China has agreed to allow WHO investigators into the country. But Pompeo stressed that the global health body needs to be free to do its real work, saying, "We need real answers, not a perfunctory political solution."

Such remarks are "hypocritical", Zhao said, adding that the US has been shifting blame and politicizing the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since the US has already announced it would withdraw from the WHO, it is no longer in any position to make unwarranted comments on cooperation between China and the organization, he said.