BEIJING, March 31. /TASS/. China has decided to impose retaliatory visa restrictions targeting a number of US officials, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a briefing on Thursday.

"In order to protect the sovereignty, security and interests of the People’s Republic of China as well as the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens, <...> China has decided to impose retaliatory visa restrictions on US officials who spread lies on the issue of human rights and harm China’s interests," the spokesman stressed.

According to him, Washington made up a lie under the pretext of the so-called human rights issue and exploited it as an excuse to interfere in the Chinese interior affairs, discredit the country and exert pressure on Chinese officials. As the diplomat underscored, such actions have no moral boundaries, and they are a grave violation of the principles of international law and the basic norms of international relations. "China is strongly against this," Wang Wenbin pointed out.