This aerial photo taken on Oct 17, 2020 shows a cotton harvesting machine in a field in Manas County, Hui Autonomous Prefecture of Changji, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (DING LEI / XINHUA)

BEIJING – China strongly condemns and firmly opposes the so-called "Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act" formulated by the United States, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday. 

The whole issue of "forced labor in Xinjiang" is a huge lie concocted by anti-China forces to smear China, Wang Wenbin, spokesperson for the ministry, said.

READ MORE: Xinjiang Act violates human rights: China Daily editorial

The act is a clear indication that the US is seeking to engender forced unemployment in Xinjiang through legal form of actions

Wang Wenbin, Spokesperson, Foreign Ministry, China

It is completely contrary to the fact that the labor rights and interests of people of all ethnic groups in China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region are duly guaranteed, he added. 

Based on this lie, the "Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act" and US sanctions on relevant entities and individuals in Xinjiang represent an escalation of the US suppression of China under the guise of human rights and prove that the US wantonly undermines the global economic and trade rules, as well as the stability of the international industrial chain and supply chain, said the spokesperson. 

He said the act is a clear indication that the US is seeking to engender forced unemployment in Xinjiang through legal form of actions, and to make the world decouple with China.  

It fully exposes hegemonic nature of the US – a country that violates human rights and breaks rules in the name of preserving them, said Wang.

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China will act forcefully to uphold the lawful rights and interests of Chinese companies and nationals, he said.