China imposes sanctions on US officials over Xinjiang

BEIJING (AP) — China has announced sanctions on four members of the U.S. government’s Commission on International Religious Freedom in retaliation for penalties imposed on Chinese officials over complaints of abuses in the country’s northwestern Xinjiang region. The tit-for-tat sanctions add to spiraling tension over Xinjiang. Activists are calling for a boycott of February’s Winter Olympics in Beijing. China has denied accusations of abuses. A Foreign Ministry spokesperson says the chairwoman and three members of the U.S. panel are barred from visiting mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau and any assets they have in the country will be frozen.