China firmly opposes latest U.S. sanctions against Chinese firms over Xinjiang

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's foreign ministry says it deplores and firmly opposes the latest U.S. sanctions against Chinese firms over Xinjiang, adding that it is purely China's internal affair.

China's foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian made the comments Monday at a daily briefing.

The U.S. Commerce Department said Friday it is sanctioning nine Chinese companies and institutions saying they were "complicit in human rights violations and abuses committed in China's campaign of repression, mass arbitrary detention, forced labor and high-technology surveillance against Uighurs" and others.