ISTANBUL

China on Thursday announced counter-sanctions on US officials after Washington imposed similar restrictions on Chinese officials last week.

“China decided to take reciprocal countermeasures and restrict visas for US officials in response to the US practice of imposing visa restrictions against Chinese officials over issues related to ‘human rights’,” Wang Wenbin, spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry, told a news conference in Beijing, according to the Chinese daily Global Times.

The sanctions on unspecified American officials by Beijing came after Washington last week alleged involvement of Chinese officials in “repressive acts against members of ethnic and religious minority groups and religious and spiritual practitioners inside and outside of China’s borders, including within the US.”

Beijing had criticized the move and urged the US to revert the step or face reciprocal actions.

“The US rejects efforts by PRC (People's Republic of China) officials to harass, intimidate, surveil, and abduct members of ethnic and religious minority groups, including those who seek safety abroad, and US citizens, who speak out on behalf of these vulnerable populations,” a US State Department statement had said.

It added that visa restrictions are placed on Chinese officials who are “believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, policies or actions aimed at repressing religious and spiritual practitioners, members of ethnic minority groups, dissidents, human rights defenders, journalists, labor organizers, civil society organizers, and peaceful protestors in China and beyond.”

Washington called on Beijing to “cease its acts of transnational repression, including attempting to silence Uyghur American activists and other Uyghur individuals serving the American people by denying exit permission to their family members in China.”

Meanwhile, China’s Commerce Ministry urged the US side to “immediately correct its wrongdoings and stop politicizing economic and trade issues,” Global Times reported.

“The US should provide a fair, stable, and non-discriminative market environment for businesses across the globe, including Chinese firms,” a spokesperson for the ministry said in Beijing.

The statement came after the US Federal Communications Commission added two Chinese telecom entities to its alleged security risk list.

Beijing warned of “necessary measures to safeguard legitimate rights of Chinese firms.”