Chinese officials on Monday rejected allegations by the U.S. administration of "religious persecution" in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence attended an event on the sideline of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, and accused China of religious persecution in Xinjiang.

While Trump called for an end to religious persecution without mentioning Xinjiang, Pence said China suppresses religious freedom.

A spokesperson for the Chinese delegation to the 74th UN General Assembly accused Washington of interfering in China's domestic affairs and said such acts violate the UN Charter.

"Unfortunately, we regret to see the U.S. using religious freedom as a cover to wantonly criticize other sovereign countries by disrespecting and distorting facts," the spokesperson said in a statement.

He went on to say that "the freedom of religion is protected in the country's constitution. The Chinese government and people in Xinjiang get to decide on the region's affairs, and the Xinjiang issue is not about ethnicity, religion and human rights, but about anti-terrorism and anti-separatism."

China has arranged nearly 1,000 foreign diplomats and representatives to visit Xinjiang and to see anti-terrorism measures adopted by local governments. They learned that such measures have made contributions to global anti-terrorism work without harming local people's freedom of religion, he added.

In a separate meeting with foreign ministers from Central Asian nations, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused China for conducting repression in Xinjiang.

He told diplomats that China detains Uygurs in Xinjiang and such an action is not about terrorism but is Beijing's attempt to repress minority culture and religion.

On Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told reporters in New York that such accusations are totally distorting facts, and urged the U.S. to stop its double standards and refrain from interfering in China's affairs. 

Severe terror attacks have struck Xinjiang over the past two decades, which cost innocent lives, Hua said.

The local government has taken precautionary measures by establishing vocational education centers. And the region has not been hit by a single terror attack over the past three years, she said.

People cannot deny the efforts, and especially foreigners who have visited the region, she added.

(Cover: A teacher instructs a trainee at a reading room of the vocational education and training center in Hotan county of Hotan Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, October 7, 2018. /Xinhua Photo)