China on Monday announced sanctions on a U.S. entity and four officials in response to U.S. sanctions on multiple Chinese officials in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. 

The four U.S. officials are Senator Marco Rubio, Senator Ted Cruz, Congressman Chris Smith, and Sam Brownback, the U.S. State Department ambassador-at-large for International Religious Freedom, announced Hua Chunying, spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, at a daily news briefing.

The sanctions will also be applied on the U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China.

The decision comes after the U.S. on July 9 imposed sanctions on a Chinese government institution and four Chinese officials in Xinjiang. 

The U.S. act constitutes serious interference in China's internal affairs, severe violation of basic norms governing international relations, and grave harm to China-U.S. relations, the spokesperson noted, adding that Xinjiang affairs are entirely China's internal affairs, and the United States has no right and is in no position to intervene.  

The Chinese government is determined to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests, combat violent terrorism, separatism and religious extremism, and oppose foreign interference in Xinjiang affairs and China's other internal affairs, Hua stressed. 

"We urge the United States to immediately rescind its wrong decision and stop making any remarks or moves that interfere in China's internal affairs and undermine China's interests," said Hua, adding that China will take further action as the situation develops.  

(Cover: People attend a culture and tourism festival themed on Dolan and Qiuci culture in Awat County of Aksu Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, October 25, 2019. /Xinhua)