China slams US clampdown on Huawei, accuses UK of having no 'autonomy on the issue'

China has responded to the United States' actions against the Chinese Telecom giant Huawei by calling out American sanctions as 'dirty play'. According to reports, the United States has claimed that China’s alleged poor human rights record has given it justifiable cause to impose visa restrictions on Huawei employees.

Read: US To Impose Visa Bans On Some Employees Of Huawei Over Human Rights Abuse In China 

Rising tensions between two 'superpowers'

The US and China bilateral relations have been tense in the last few months on grounds of many contentious issues such as the COVID-19 pandemic and Beijing’s imposition of controversial national security law on Hong Kong citizens. The Huawei row is one such contentious subject that has resurfaced time and again leading up to a war of words between US and Chinese leaders.  

As per reports, the United Kingdom has also announced that it will be banning Huawei. The move is being seen as a success by the Trump administration in its continued efforts to isolate the Chines firm.

As per reports, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo emboldened by UK’s decision to ban Huawei recently stated that this meant that the UK was joining the US and many other democracies around the world in becoming ‘Clean countries'.

Read: Trump: US Urging Countries Not To Use Huawei 

Pompeo's statement drew a response from Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying who claimed that none of the actions taken by the US is clean and that the US was simply playing dirty politics.

During a regular briefing when Hua was asked about Britain’s ban on Huawei following the sanctions placed by the US, she reportedly claimed that the actions by the UK government just shows that Britain had lost its independence and the ability to make autonomous decisions when it came to the issue of Huawei.

Hua also added that China would welcome a visit by Pompeo to Xinjian, which is located in the western ends of the Asian country and has been pulled up international media for alleged Chinese atrocities and human rights violations against Uighurs Muslims.

Read: Chinese UK Ambassador Says Huawei Decision 'unfair'  

Read: After UK's Huawei 5G Ban, Competitors Nokia & Ericsson 'ready To Replace' Chinese Firm