The US House of Representatives has passed a bill to counter what it calls the “arbitrary detention, torture, and harassment” of Uighur Muslims in China.
It calls for “targeted sanctions” on members of the Chinese government – and names the Communist Party secretary in the Xinjiang autonomous region, Chen Quanguo.
The bill still needs approval from the Senate and from President Trump.
China’s foreign ministry reacted angrily, calling the move “malicious”.
The Uighur Human Rights Policy Act 2019 bill was passed by 407 to 1 in the House of Representatives on Tuesday night.
Its passing comes days after Mr Trump signed into law a bill that supports pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong – also leading to condemnation from China.
Republican Thomas Massie, from Kentucky, voted against the Uighur bill. He also voted against the Hong Kong bill.
The BBC’s China correspondent John Sudworth said – if it became law – the bill would “mark the most significant international attempt to pressure China over its mass detention of Uighurs and other Muslim minorities”.
Source: BBC
