BEIJING -- A Xinjiang official on Monday said that those attempting to sanction Xinjiang companies will only hurt themselves, and that enterprises like H&M should keep their eyes open and work to distinguish right from wrong.

In response to the Xinjiang cotton boycott, Xu Guixiang, spokesperson with the government of Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, told a press briefing in Beijing that enterprises should not politicize economic behavior.

"Chinese people, including those in Xinjiang, have expressed their indignation over the sanctions on relevant individuals and entities in Xinjiang by external forces under the pretext of human rights issues," said Xu, adding that Chinese people should not be offended and those who wield the big stick of sanctions against Xinjiang companies will end up hurting themselves.

Stressing that respect for national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity is the basic norm of international law and international relations, Xu said Xinjiang affairs are purely China's internal affairs and no external force has the right to interfere in them, let alone impose long-arm jurisdiction and sanctions.

Xu rejected the disinformation about Xinjiang and highlighted the progress made in many fields in Xinjiang over the years:

From 2014 to 2019, the GDP of Xinjiang increased from 919.59 billion yuan (about $142 billion) to 1.36 trillion yuan, with an average annual growth rate of 7.2 percent;

Under the current standards, 3.06 million rural residents in the region have been lifted out of poverty, 3,666 poverty-stricken villages have withdrawn from the poverty list, and all 35 poverty-stricken counties removed from the poverty list;

The average life expectancy of local people has risen from 30 at the founding of new China to 72 years. Uygur population in the region has doubled from 5.55 million to over 12 million in the past 40 years. People of all ethnic groups enjoy various rights in accordance with the law.

"Slandering all these as 'genocide,' 'crimes against humanity,' and 'human rights violations,' is simply lying through one's teeth," Xu said.

Xu said anti-China forces in the European Union, the United States, Britain and Canada proclaim themselves to be "judges" of human rights and are keen to lecture others, but they forget their own countries' ignoble record on human rights. "They kept silent about the crimes committed, and instead claimed that Xinjiang had committed 'genocide'. This is simply shameless," he added.

Noting that the purpose of those who engaged in political manipulation on Xinjiang-related issues is to mess up Xinjiang and contain China by playing the human rights card, Xu said such vicious intentions will surely trigger great indignation and strong counterattack from the Chinese people, including the people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang.