The United States took a set of new measures against China in various fields, which were met with condemnation from Beijing, which said that some "extremist" forces in Washington were motivated by the mentality of the Cold War.

The US Department of Homeland Security said it had taken new measures to prevent cotton imports from Xinjiang, China, because it resulted from forced labor imposed on the Uyghur Muslim minority.

In a statement issued yesterday, Wednesday, the ministry stated that US customs can seize loads containing cotton imported from the "Xinjiang Production and Construction" Company, which is described as an economic and paramilitary institution, and has been subject to sanctions from the US Treasury since last August.

The statement indicated that this is the sixth measure taken by the US authorities within 3 months to block the way to goods that were produced from "forced labor" imposed on Uyghurs in Xinjiang, according to the ministry.

"President Donald Trump and the American people will not tolerate human rights violations committed by the Chinese Communist regime," said Ken Kutsinley, Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security in the statement.

Xinjiang in western China is the largest cotton producing region in the country, and the Muslim Uighurs and Turkic speakers form the largest ethnic group in it.

International organizations and Western countries accuse Beijing of widespread persecution of the Uyghurs, and of sending more than a million of them to detention camps in Xinjiang called "rehabilitation camps."

Beijing denies this number, and says the camps are vocational rehabilitation centers aimed at helping residents find work and thus steer clear of extremism.

Visa restrictions

In parallel with the ban on cotton imports, Washington has adopted new and tougher restrictions on the entry of members of the Chinese Communist Party into the United States, according to what was reported by the New York Times Thursday, quoting the US State Department.

The new rules, which came into effect on Wednesday, limit the period of entry visas granted to members of the Chinese Communist Party and members of their family, to only one month, and allow only one entry.

The New York Times quoted a US State Department spokesman as saying, "For decades, we have allowed members of the Chinese Communist Party to freely and unimpeded entry to American institutions and companies, even though these same advantages were never provided freely to American citizens in China."

In the past, entry visa applicants were able to obtain visitor visas of 10 years.

The newspaper said the new restrictions could theoretically apply to about 270 million people.

Relations between the two international powers are experiencing tension in several fields, and each has imposed restrictions that limit travel on the citizens of the other country.

Chinese authorities have this year expelled about 15 American journalists working for The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal.

For its part, the administration of President Donald Trump canceled the visas of more than a thousand Chinese students and researchers under measures imposed last June.

It accused a number of them of spying and stealing intellectual property.

More than 1,000 Chinese researchers have left the United States, John Demers, assistant attorney for national security affairs, said in a press briefing on Wednesday.

Chinese customers

During the same testimony, Director of the National Center for Security and Counterintelligence, William Ivanina, stated that Chinese agents are already targeting individuals from the upcoming US administration that will be led by President-elect Joe Biden, as well as "close" to Biden's team.

On the other hand, the US House of Representatives approved on Wednesday a law passed by the Senate that may prevent Chinese companies from accessing US financial markets.

The legislation dubbed the "Foreign Company Accountability Act" may be referred to President Trump's office for final approval.

On the other hand, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Kho Zhongying, commented in a regular press briefing today, Thursday, on some of these US measures, and said that some forces in Washington are persecuting China politically.

Khua saw that US practices regarding import bans undermine market principles, and accused US politicians of spreading fake news alleging forced labor.

Regarding the procedures to enter the United States, the spokeswoman did not confirm these new restrictions, but said that previous reports of Washington's intention to do so showed "its hatred and anomalous mentality towards the Communist Party."

She added that "some extremist anti-China forces in the United States, driven by ideological bias and a deep-rooted Cold War mentality, are carrying out political persecution of China."

And she believed that "this is an escalation of their political persecution against China, and China strongly opposes it."