China has lodged strong dissatisfaction and opposition to the remarks on human rights made by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who on Friday linked the production of lithium in China to "slave labor" as he discussed Canada's efforts to ramp up production of the metal used in electric vehicle and other batteries.

The spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Canada on Saturday said that Trudeau's remark is a complete disregard of the facts, saying China has no "slave labor" and "forced labor," which, however, exists in the U.S., Canada and some other Western countries.

The embassy noted that more than 12.5 million Africans were trafficked to the Americas as forced labor from 1525 to 1866, and to this day, the U.S. remains a disaster zone for forced labor. In the U.S., hundreds of thousands are living in "modern slavery"—a social condition that includes state-imposed labor, sexual servitude and forced marriage according to the Global Slavery Index. 

The situation in Canada is no better, the embassy added, saying many black and indigenous people in Canada were forced into slavery over the past hundred years, while slave auctions also existed in some cities.

"It can be seen that such absurd allegations as slave labor and forced labor are entirely a reflection of the culpability of the U.S., Canada and other Western countries," the embassy said in a statement.

Speaking on its human rights situation, it noted that China has eliminated absolute poverty while having increased the average life expectancy to 78.2 years. China also established the world's largest systems of education, social security, medical care and grassroots democracy. Chinese people's living standards have improved holistically, the embassy added.

Canadian politicians are in no position to criticize China's human rights situation as they turn a blind eye to their own country's human rights issues. 

"We suggest  the Canadian side deeply reflect on its own (human rights) record and take concrete measures to solve its serious human rights problems," the embassy said. "Meanwhile, the country should respect facts, discard prejudice and stop maliciously denigrating China's human rights situation."