US has blacklisted 28 Chinese companies and government agencies over rights abuses in Xinjiang.
According to details, The US Department of Commerce on Monday, blacklisted the Chinese governmental agencies and commercial firms over concerns about their role in human rights violations in Xinjiang. The US has denied the move is linked to trade talks which are going to be held this week.
Among the blacklisted agencies and companies are the Xinjiang province’s Public Security Bureau, together with 19 other government agencies, DW reported.
“This act seriously violates the basic norms of international relations, interferes with China’s internal affairs and damages the interests of the Chinese side, and China expresses its strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition to this,” said foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang at a press briefing.
According to The Guardian, The department filing said the “entities have been implicated in human rights violations and abuses in the implementation of China’s campaign of repression, mass arbitrary detention, and high-technology surveillance against Uighurs, Kazakhs, and other members of Muslim minority groups.”
US officials said the announcement was not tied to this week’s resumption of trade talks with China. Being added to the “Entity List” bars companies or other entities from buying parts and components from US companies without US government approval.