China imposes sanctions on US, Canadian entities

Beijing announced on Saturday sanctions on US and Canadian individuals and an entity, urging the parties to redress their mistakes and stop political manipulation on Xinjiang-related issues.

The Chinese penalties were in response to the two countries' unilateral sanctions on individuals and entities in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region on March 22 based on rumors and disinformation.

According to a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry, the sanctions were placed on three individuals and one entity, namely Chair of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom Gayle Manchin, Vice-Chair of the USCIRF Tony Perkins, Canadian Member of Parliament Michael Chong, and the Subcommittee on International Human Rights of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development of the House of Commons of Canada.

The individuals concerned are prohibited from entering the Chinese mainland and the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions, and Chinese citizens and institutions are prohibited from doing business with the individuals and having exchanges with the subcommittee.

Meanwhile, China's previous sanctions on US individuals who have seriously undermined China's sovereignty and interests on Xinjiang-related issues remain effective, the statement added.

Noting that the Chinese government was firmly determined to safeguard its national sovereignty, security and development interests, the statement warned relevant parties to stop interfering in China's internal affairs in any form and refrain from going further down the wrong path.

"Otherwise, they will get their fingers burnt," it said.

In the past week, China has announced plans to impose a series of retaliatory sanctions in response to the recent coordinated sanctions by the US, Canada, the United Kingdom and the European Union, citing the so-called human right issues in Xinjiang.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a regular news conference on Friday in Beijing that it was those countries that started the provocation and that China was only acting in self-defense.

"If they are bent on harming China's interests, we will have to talk and deal with them in a way that they can understand and remember," she said.