China firmly opposes interference by the U.S. Congress in China's internal affairs, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Wednesday.
Zhao Lijian made the remarks at a daily press briefing, in response to a query after the U.S. House of Representatives passed a revised version of a Xinjiang-related act agreed on by the Senate and House on Tuesday.
Zhao said that by "cooking up lies and making troubles on such issues, some U.S. politicians are seeking to contain China and hold back China's development through political manipulation and economic bullying in the name of 'human rights,'" adding that their "vile scheme will never succeed, and will only further damage the credibility and image of the U.S. government and Congress in China."
He stated that there are approximately 500,000 child farmworkers in the U.S., roughly 240,000 to 325,000 women and children are victims of sexual slavery, and up to 100,000 people were trafficked into the country for forced labor annually over the past five years.
"The label of 'forced labor' should be pinned on the United States itself," the spokesperson said.
He went on to say that U.S. government had committed genocide against Native Americans.
"I want to iterate that what the U.S. government did to Native Americans constitutes real genocide. Compared to the end of the 15th century, the population of Native Americans dwindled from five million to 250,000, less than one twentieth of the original. Even till this day, Native Americans are still a marginalized group on political, economic, cultural and social fronts, long suffering from systemic discrimination in a wide range of areas," he said.
He said the accusation of "genocide" and "forced labor" in Xinjiang is the "lie of the century," but it has become "politically correct" in the U.S.
"We deeply regret this. China is determined in safeguarding its national development interests. We will make resolute response if the United States insists on advancing the act," Zhao said.
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