The Chinese government holds a news conference on Xinjiang.  China on Saturday imposed sanctions against two American religious rights officials and one Canadian lawmaker in response to sanctions imposed by the US and Canada over Xinjiang.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken warned China Saturday that tit-for-tat sanctions were ‘baseless’ and would only shine a harsh spotlight on the ‘genocide’ in Xinjiang. The UN is engaged in ‘serious negotiation’ with China about granting UN officials access to western Xinjiang province, Antonio Guterres told CBC.

China has strongly rejected accusations of human rights abuses in Xinjiang and launched calls for boycotts and other punishments against foreign firms including retailer H&M and Nike, along with sanctions against foreign government officials and activists whom it says are spreading false information about its policies toward Uighurs and members of other Muslim minority groups in Xinjiang.