BEIJING, August 31. /TASS/. China will impose retaliatory sanctions against US officials who spread misleading information about Tibet, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Wang Wenbin said.

"China will impose retaliatory visa restrictions in accordance with the law on US officials who have long been involved in Tibet-related issues and spread slander on the issue," the diplomat said at a briefing on Thursday.

Wang Wenbin urged the US to "respect facts, change course and stop spreading misleading information about Tibet and using the issue of the region to interfere in China's internal affairs."

Earlier, Washington imposed visa restrictions on Chinese officials for their alleged involvement in the forced assimilation of more than one million Tibetan children in state-run boarding schools, according to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

The Tibet Autonomous Region is one of China's five national autonomous regions and is located in southwestern China. The region is currently home to 3.6 million people, 95% of whom are Tibetan. Chinese authorities consider the spiritual leader of the Tibetans, the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, to be a separatist whose activities are aimed at splitting the country. China’s policy is based on the formula saying that Tibet has always been an integral part of China, so there can be no question of a "Tibetan issue." China opposes any contacts between foreign countries and the "Tibetan government-in-exile." Beijing is against any country that creates favorable conditions for the Dalai Lama's "separatist activities." Russia has always recognized that Tibet is an integral part of China.