Blood transfusion, toxins and brain control.. Washington imposes sanctions on Chinese companies "involved" in the oppression of the Uyghurs

The US Commerce Department announced Thursday that it has added about 30 Chinese companies, including biotech companies, to its blacklist of entities accused of human rights abuses against the Uighur minority in China's Xinjiang province.

"Scientific research in biotechnology and medical innovation can save lives. Unfortunately, the People's Republic of China has chosen to use these technologies to control its own people and oppress ethnic and religious minorities," US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said in a statement.

In total, 37 entities were added to the list of companies accused of engaging in activities "contrary to the foreign policy and national security interests of the United States," according to the minister.

The list includes Chinese companies, but also companies from Georgia, Malaysia and Turkey, according to the document, which will be published in the Official Gazette on Friday.

Washington decided to restrict sensitive exports to the Academy of Military Medical Sciences and its 11 research institutes due to its work in the field of biotechnology, including "alleged brain-control weapons," the document explained.

Rights groups say China is exercising unprecedented control over the Muslim Uighur minority in the northwestern region of Xinjiang.

These entities targeted by US sanctions have been particularly involved in research focused on blood transfusions, bioengineering and toxicology.

"The United States will continue to strongly oppose the efforts of China and Iran to transform tools that contribute to the prosperity of mankind into tools that threaten global security and stability," Raimondo said.

Experts, witnesses, and the US government assert that more than a million members of the Uighur minority and other Turkic-speaking Muslims are being held in camps, in an attempt to eradicate their Islamic cultural traditions.

Human rights organizations say more than a million Uighurs have been detained in political rehabilitation centres.

But Beijing rejects these accusations, and talks about vocational training centers aimed at keeping "trainees" away from extremism.