China vows to respond after US imposes sanctions on Xinjiang

A worker gathers cotton yarn at a textile manufacturing plant, in Aksu in western China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (Mark Schiefelbein/AP)

China on Friday said it would take all necessary measures to safeguard its institutions and enterprises, after the US senate passed a new law barring imports from the Xinjiang region unless businesses can prove they were produced without forced labour.

Foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said the measure approved Thursday “indicates that the US has no scruples about smearing China by every means”.