China slams US 'lie' over Starbucks stores in Xinjiang

China's foreign ministry accused a US congressional committee on Saturday of "fabricating claims" after its chairman called on Starbucks to shutter two newly opened cafes in Xinjiang over alleged rights abuses.

John Moolenaar, chairman of the US House Select Committee on China, called the decision to open stores in the regional capital Urumqi on Tuesday "morally bankrupt", and urged Starbucks to close the cafes -- the company's first in the region.

The stores' opening "ties an iconic American brand to the CCP's brutal campaign against the Uyghurs", he said, referring to the ruling Chinese Communist Party.

Activists and foreign governments have accused Chinese authorities of widespread rights abuses against Xinjiang's predominantly Muslim Uyghur minority, with the US labelling it a genocide.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun accused the select committee on Saturday of "habitually fabricating claims out of thin air for political purposes to attack and smear China".

"The so-called 'genocide' in Xinjiang is a blatant lie," he said.

The United Nations warned in 2022 of possible crimes against humanity in the region, including the detention of more than a million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in camps in the region.

Rights groups say serious abuses, including forced labour, continue in the region.