The White House said US President Joe Biden signed a law banning imports from China's Xinjiang region over concerns about forced labor that Chinese authorities might practice on the Muslim Uighur minority, drawing anger and condemnation from China.
The Prevention of Forced Labor Against Uyghur's Act is part of the United States' response to Beijing's treatment of China's Muslim minority, which Washington called a "genocide," CNN reported.
US Congress passed the bill this month after lawmakers reached a compromise between the House and Senate versions.
The "rebuttable presumption" is key to the legislation, which assumes that all goods from Xinjiang are produced with forced labor, where Beijing has set up internment camps for Uighurs and other Muslim groups and bans imports unless proven otherwise.
Some commodities, such as cotton, tomatoes, and polysilicon used to make solar panels, were categorized as "high priority" for enforcement action.
China denies abuses in Xinjiang, with its embassy in Washington saying that "this act ignores the truth and maliciously distorts the human rights situation in Xinjiang."
"This is a flagrant violation of international law and the rules of international relations and a flagrant interference in China's internal affairs, which China firmly condemns and firmly rejects," embassy spokesman Liu Bingyu said in an email statement.
"China will respond more in light of the development of the situation," he added.
In a statement on Friday, China's Foreign Ministry expressed "strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition to the legislation."
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