China calls on all relevant sides to stop politicizing the Xinjiang human rights issue and interfering in the country's internal affairs, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said on Thursday at a regular press conference in Beijing.
Geng made the remarks in response to reports that about 22 countries signed a joint letter to UN Human Rights Council on the situation in China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. He said the joint letter shows nothing but a complete disregard for facts and unfair accusations against China.
"China expresses strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to such action and has made official complaints to the relevant countries," Geng said. "We urge these countries to respect the facts, discard prejudice and abide by the UN Charter."
"Xinjiang affairs are China's internal affairs. No foreign forces are entitled to interfere in the country's internal affairs," the spokesperson stressed.
Xinjiang has not seen any outbreak of violence over the past two years since adopting a series of anti-terrorism and de-extremism measures, including the establishment of vocational skills education and training centers, to prevent a small number of people who are seduced by extremism from becoming perpetrators and victims of terrorism.
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The UN counterterrorism chief Vladimir Voronkov's visit to Xinjiang from June 13-15 was praised by the UN and the international community, strengthening China's cooperation with the UN in international counterterrorism.
The Chinese side has openly invited foreign officials, diplomatic envoys, journalists and scholars to visit the region to understand the real situation in Xinjiang.
"After field visits, many people expressed what they see in Xinjiang is completely different from what they see in reports by Western media," Geng said.