China has retaliated against growing pressure from the United States by announcing sanctions on four U.S. officials.

The sanctions come in response to U.S. penalties imposed on Chinese leaders over human rights abuse complaints.

The sanctions will bar four members of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom — commission chairwoman Nadine Maenza, vice chairman Nury Turkel, and commissioners Anurima Bhargava and James Carr — from entering any part of China, freeze any assets they may own there, and forbid them from doing business with Chinese nationals and institutions, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian on Tuesday.

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"The United States should withdraw the so-called sanctions and stop interfering in Xinjiang's affairs and China's internal affairs," Zhao said. "China will make further responses in accordance with the development of the situation."

These sanctions are part of a diplomatic back-and-forth over China's treatment of the Uyghur Muslims and the United States's continued expression of concern for the ethnic group. On Dec. 10, the U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions against multiple officials from Xinjiang.

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On Dec. 16, the Senate unanimously voted to approve a ban on goods produced with Uyghur slave labor, including in Xinjiang. The bill is now at Joe Biden's desk, the president is expected to sign it into law.

China is also facing diplomatic boycotts from the U.S. and some allied nations of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. China has threatened significant countermeasures, although it remains unclear what those are to date.