U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's claims that China used forced sterilization on Uygur women is totally nonsense, said Chinese Foreign Ministry on Friday.

Hua Chunying, a spokesperson from the ministry, made the remarks after Pompeo accused China of using "forced abortion, forced sterilization" policy on Uygur women at a United Nations event marking the 25th Anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women on Thursday.

The U.S. official also accused China of so-called crackdown on the freedoms of expression and association of these women's rights advocates.

The legitimate rights and interests of every citizen are under equal protection in China and ethnic minorities, including the Uygur people, had always enjoyed preferential population policies, said Hua.

From 2010 to 2018, Uygur population in Xinjiang was up 2.5469 million (25.04 percent) to 12.7184 million from 10.1715 million, Hua pointed out.

The Uygur population in Xinjiang rose from 10.1715 million to 12.7184 million during the period, an increase of 25.04 percent, which was not only higher than the 13.99-percent increase in Xinjiang's population, but also significantly higher than the increase in the Han population.

These figures have proved Pompeo is lying, she said.

The Chinese government has attached great importance to the protection of women's rights and earnestly implemented the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, said Hua. 

However, the United States has not ratified the convention yet, she added.

In the U.S., women are 21 times more likely to die by firearm homicide than women in peer nations. Up to 70 percent of women in the country have experienced physical and/or sexual violence from an intimate partner in their lifetime, according to the spokesperson.

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