On June 11, 2021, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs Yang Jiechi had a phone conversation with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the latter's request, and stated China's solemn position on issues related to Xinjiang and Hong Kong.

Yang Jiechi pointed out that recent signs indicate that some anti-China forces are trying to stir up one after another sinister waves to smear China under the excuse of the so-called Xinjiang and Hong Kong-related issues, and they are doomed to failure. The issues related to Xinjiang and Hong Kong concern China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and involve China's core interests. We urge the U.S. side to respect China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, not to interfere in China's internal affairs under any pretext, and not to damage China's core interests in any way.

Yang Jiechi stressed that the issues related to Xinjiang are not so-called human rights or religion issues. Seeing violent and terrorist incidents on the rise in Xinjiang, the Chinese government took resolute actions to safeguard public safety, which are totally justified. The U.S. side has fabricated various lies about Xinjiang in an attempt to sabotage the stability and unity in Xinjiang, which confuse right and wrong and are extremely absurd. China is firmly opposed to such actions. Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China, and Hong Kong affairs are purely China's internal affairs. The aim of improving the electoral system of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) is to safeguard the constitutional order of the HKSAR as defined in the Constitution of the People's Republic of China and the Basic Law of the HKSAR, and ensure that "Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong" with patriots as the mainstay. It is a common practice in the world to make strict requirements on the patriotic stance and political qualifications of those who govern. Those clamoring for "Hong Kong independence" are not eligible to participate in the administration of Hong Kong and must be punished by the national security law in Hong Kong.