Spokeswoman Mao Ning described the document as unfounded and assured that Beijing legally protects the freedom of religious belief of all its citizens.

The U.S. report claims that the Chinese government monitors and represses Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang, while calling these actions ‘genocide’.

The spokeswoman responded that these accusations are ‘lies and false information’ and stressed that China’s policy in Xinjiang resulted in social stability, economic development and significant improvements in the living conditions of the Uyghurs.

Mao detailed that currently in China there are about 200 million religious people, more than 380 000 clerics and approximately 5 500 religious organizations, in addition to about 140 000 legally registered places of worship.

‘The facts are self-evident and should not be distorted or defamed,’ the Foreign Ministry affirmed.

In response to the accusation of genocide, Mao presented national census data showing a significant growth of the Uyghur population in Xinjiang, from 3.6076 million in 1953 to 11.6243 million in 2020, which exceeds the growth of other ethnic minorities in the region.

In addition, the spokeswoman criticized the United States for what she described as a troubling record of politicization of religion, church scandals and the rise of cults.

Mao pointed out that these problems undermine religious freedom on U.S. soil itself and emphasized that Washington ‘has no authority to position itself as a teacher and criticize the religious situation in other countries’.

Finally, the spokeswoman urged the U.S. to respect the facts, correct its mistakes and stop using alleged religious problems to interfere in China’s internal affairs.

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