BEIJING - A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Tuesday that China strongly condemns and firmly opposes the so-called "Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act" formulated by the United States.

Wang Wenbin, the spokesperson, said the whole issue of "forced labor in Xinjiang" is a huge lie concocted by anti-China forces to smear China. It is completely contrary to the fact that the labor rights and interests of people of all ethnic groups in China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region are duly guaranteed.

Based on this lie, the "Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act" and US sanctions on relevant entities and individuals in Xinjiang represent an escalation of the US suppression of China under the guise of human rights and prove that the United States wantonly undermines the global economic and trade rules, as well as the stability of the international industrial chain and supply chain, Wang said.

He said the act is a clear indication that the United States is seeking to engender forced unemployment in Xinjiang through legal form of actions, and to make the world decouple with China. It fully exposes the United States' hegemonic nature -- a country that violates human rights and breaks rules in the name of preserving them.

China will act forcefully to uphold the lawful rights and interests of Chinese companies and nationals, Wang said.