US officials and lawmakers could face visa restrictions in China, as Beijing considers retaliatory measures against Washington for what it calls interference in Chinese internal affairs over Xinjiang and Hong Kong. Mainland Chinese media and diplomatic observers said Beijing was mulling visa restrictions, while one state media editor went further and suggested all US diplomatic passport holders could be barred from entering Xinjiang , the remote western region where hundreds of thousands of Uygurs are held in detention camps. New cache of Xinjiang papers ‘a manual for China’s detention camps’ Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of Global Times, a nationalist newspaper affiliated with Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily, linked a Xinjiang-related bill going through US Congress and “odious performance on Xinjiang issues” by US officials and legislators with the proposed visa restrictions. He added that China “might also ban all US diplomatic passport holders from entering Xinjiang”. In a separate tweet, Global Times said an unnamed source had indicated that China would soon release an “unreliable entity list” that would include “relevant US entities”. The move was also linked to the US legislation relating to Xinjiang. Based on what I know, since US Congress plans to pass Xinjiang-related bill, China is considering to impose visa restrictions on US officials and lawmakers who've had odious performance on Xinjiang issue;it might also ban all US diplomatic passport holders from entering Xinjiang. — Hu Xijin 胡锡进 (@HuXijin_GT) December 3, 2019 Experts from the United Nations and activists say at least 1 million Uygurs, and members of other largely Muslim minority groups, have been detained in Xinjiang. US officials, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, have also publicly criticised China for conditions in the region. China has said the camps provide vocational training to help eliminate extremist thoughts and has demanded that US and other foreign states stop interfering in China’s domestic affairs. US secretary of state hammers China on Hong Kong and Xinjiang On Monday the Chinese foreign ministry responded to the passage into law of the US Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act by suspending visits of US military vessels and aircraft to Hong Kong. Like the proposed Xinjiang legislation, the Hong Kong act allows Washington to impose sanctions on officials deemed to have violated human rights in Hong Kong. The ministry also announced sanctions on five US-based NGOs which Beijing accuses of supporting violent activities in Hong Kong. They are Human Rights Watch, the National Endowment for Democracy, the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, the International Republican Institute and Freedom House. In a statement, Freedom House president Michael Abramowitz said the organisation did not look to the Chinese Communist Party for permission to support its goals. “We offer solidarity to the people of Hong Kong, who need little guidance from others in standing up for their rights. Their recent district council elections, which demonstrated their overwhelming support for pro-democracy parties and candidates, are clear evidence of their desire for freedom,” Abramowitz said. “The Chinese Communist Party’s most recent actions will only strengthen our resolve as we continue to oppose its well-documented efforts to undermine fundamental human rights.” None of the NGOs have significant operations on the mainland and their operations in Hong Kong are not restricted as mainland laws do not apply in the city. The ministry did not specify how sanctions would be imposed but observers said visa restrictions could be an option. Lu Xiang, a US studies research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, said Hong Kong would be included in any restriction imposed on staff from these NGOs entering China. “China has the authority to decide who can enter its territory and who cannot. China can restrict those people who support violent protests from entering,” he said. “China encourages exchanges with other nations, but if these people support violent acts under the pretext of exchange, they would be sanctioned.” Lu said mainland and Hong Kong authorities could also take corresponding measures if the US moved to freeze the assets of Hong Kong officials. Shi Yinhong, an international relations professor at Renmin University in Beijing, said China’s retaliation measures were mostly symbolic, but could send a warning to the NGOs. Diao Daming, a US studies expert at Renmin University, said US diplomats could be expelled from Hong Kong if they were found to be involved with the NGOs’ activities in the city, according to a report in Global Times. Diao was quoted as saying that China could investigate diplomats’ connections to the NGOs and, if they were found to be directly involved with local funding targets or providing training and assistance, they could be expelled if they did not stop “making trouble” in the city. How big a deal is the Hong Kong Democracy Act for businesses? A US State Department official denied the accusation that the NGOs were interfering in the anti-government protests which have continued in Hong Kong since June. “False accusations of foreign interference” against the US NGOs “are intended to distract from the legitimate concerns of Hongkongers”, the official said on condition of anonymity. Meanwhile, China and the US are trying to negotiate a “phase one” trade deal, with Beijing insisting that US tariffs be rolled back as part of the agreement, according to Chinese state media. US President Donald Trump said on Monday that the situation in Hong Kong could complicate his administration’s efforts to secure a trade deal with Beijing. “ It doesn’t make it better, ” Trump acknowledged when asked if the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act – which he signed into law last week just before Thanksgiving – would make a deal with China harder to achieve. A series of commentaries by People’s Daily on Tuesday said some US forces had used Hong Kong as an anti-China base, and it was time for China to sanction them. Additional reporting by Reuters