A new subject of discord between Washington and Beijing. China announced Friday retaliation against the United States after US sanctions against several Chinese leaders accused of human rights abuses against the Uighur Muslim minority in Xinjiang.

"China has decided to take reciprocal measures against American organizations and individuals who have behaved badly on matters relating to Xinjiang," said Zhao Lijian, a spokesperson for Chinese diplomacy, without however provide details. 

"The US sanctions represent a serious interference in Chinese affairs and are deeply detrimental to relations between the two countries," he added to the press.

Over a million Muslims interned

Xinjiang, a semi-desert region of around 25 million inhabitants, has long been struck by attacks attributed by Beijing to separatists or Islamists. It has been the subject of a firm recovery in recent years.

More than a million Muslims, including Uighurs, are or have been interned in camps in Xinjiang, according to Washington and international human rights organizations. China denies this figure and claims that these are vocational training centers, designed to help people find jobs, to keep them away from the temptation of Islamist extremism.

Washington has long been at the forefront of the case on Thursday, imposing sanctions on several Chinese leaders accused of being linked to "serious human rights abuses" in Xinjiang.

Read also >> In China, Uighurs victims of an imposed birth control policy

Concretely, entry visas to the United States will be refused to three officials and their families, according to a press release from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. These measures sanction "horrible and systematic ill-treatment" against Uighurs, but also other minorities.

Among those targeted by the US sanctions is Chen Quanguo, the chief official of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in Xinjiang. He is considered the architect of Beijing's security policy in the region. China welcomes the absence of attacks since taking office and the establishment of ubiquitous surveillance: identity checks, facial recognition cameras or police checkpoints.

With AFP and Reuters

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