The European Union on Monday imposed sanctions on four Chinese officials and a construction company for "human rights abuses" against Muslim Uygur community in Xinjiang despite a warning from China.

Last week, the head of the Chinese Mission to the European Union has sent a strong warning to the move, calling the sanctions confrontational.

"I want to emphasize that sanctions are confrontation. Sanctions based on lies could be interpreted as deliberately undermining China's security and development interests," Zhang said in a video-conference with the Brussels-based think tank European Policy Center. 

The four Chinese officials are Zhu Hailun, Wang Junzheng, Wang Mingshan and Chen Mingguo. 

The Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps Public Security Bureau was also targeted.

They are subject to an asset freeze in the EU and a travel ban in the bloc.

(With input from Reuters)