Days Of 'wanton Interference' Are Over, Beijing Says

Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned on Tuesday that Western forces should know that the days when they could "wantonly interfere" in China's internal affairs are over – and they won't be coming back.

Wang made the remark during talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Guilin, Guangxi, Xinhua News Agency reported.

The few Western forces smearing and slandering China should know that the era of wantonly interfering in China's internal affairs with made-up stories or fabricated lies has ended, never to return, Xinhua quoted Wang as saying.

Beijing regularly accuses Western governments and politicians of interfering in its "internal affairs" on issues including its crackdown in Hong Kong, human rights issues in Xinjiang, and all manner of developments involving Taiwan.

The European Union, Britain, the United States and Canada imposed sanctions on mainland officials on Monday for human rights abuses in Xinjiang, prompting Beijing to immediately hit back with punitive measures against European lawmakers, diplomats and institutes.

Wang said the international community does not embrace such measures by the West.

"Those retrogressive moves cannot stop China's way forward, nor turn the tide of historical development," Wang was quoted as saying.

He added that at the UN Human Rights Council, more than 80 countries supported China's "justified" position on matters relating to Xinjiang, and this shows that "a few Western forces" can never represent the international community, Xinhua said.

Beijing rejects charges that it has detained more than a million Uyghurs in camps in Xinjiang. After first denying the camps existed, it later claimed that those inside are voluntarily taking part in job training and de-radicalisation courses.