The Chinese government imposed sanctions on US officials, including a senator.

Iran Press/Asia: Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian at a news conference on Monday said: "Beijing imposed sanction on these US officials in response to US sanctions against a Chinese institution along with four former and current officials on the pretext of human rights violations in China's Xinjiang Autonomous Region."

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman only mentioned US Senator Marco Rubio, a Republican who has been described as the mastermind of US sanctions against China but did not elaborate more.

Beijing has warned it will retaliate in response to US sanctions against China.

US interference in the internal affairs of Hong Kong, Taiwan, Xinjiang, as well as accusing China of spreading the coronavirus, has strained relations between Beijing and Washington; meanwhile, the United States has no plans to end this intervention.

The two countries have traded barbs and sanctions on a slew of issues since Trump took office, from trade to more recent spats over the coronavirus pandemic, a security law in Hong Kong and Chinese policies in the far western regions of Tibet and Xinjiang.

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