Beijing Condemns British Lawmakers' Xinjiang Vote

The Chinese Embassy in London has condemned as a "flat-out lie" and an "outrageous smear" a vote in Britain's House of Commons describing Beijing's actions in Xinjiang as genocide.

A spokesperson for the mission said, hours after the vote, that Britain should stay out of China's affairs and address human rights abuses at home.

"China remains unwavering in its determination to safeguard its sovereignty, security and development interests," the spokesperson said in an article posted on the embassy's website.

"For those British MPs making groundless accusation of “genocide” against Xinjiang, it is rather the grave domestic violation of human rights here in the UK that calls for deep reflection and rectification," the spokesperson added.

The spokesperson cited critical comments by the UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent on a report on race relations in the UK.

"Whitewashing domestic human rights issues while at the same time staging human rights farces concerning other countries smack of sheer hypocrisy and double standards," the spokesperson added.

Earlier, lawmakers in Westminster backed a motion brought by Conservative lawmaker Nusrat Ghani stating Uighurs in Xinjiang were suffering crimes against humanity and genocide, and calling on government to use international law to bring it to an end.

The support for the motion is non-binding, meaning it is up to the government to decide what action, if any, to take next.

Britain's minister for Asia, Nigel Adams, again set out to parliament the government's position that any decision on describing the human rights abuses in Xinjiang as genocide would have to be taken by "competent" courts. (Additional reporting by Reuters)