BEIJING, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- The lies and slander of U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on China's Xinjiang will not change stability and prosperity in the region, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said here Wednesday.

Spokesperson Hua Chunying made the remarks at a daily news briefing in response to a query on Pompeo's declaration that the United States determined China engaged in "genocide" and constituted "crimes against humanity" on its Muslim Uygur minority in Xinjiang.

Hua said Pompeo's assertion is nothing but one of his absurd big lies, and the U.S. politician, notorious for lying and deceit, is turning himself into a clown and the joke of the century with his final madness.

Noting that crimes against humanity and genocide are clearly defined in international laws, Hua said the so-called genocide and crimes against humanity committed by China in Xinjiang are false propositions and malicious farce deliberately concocted by some anti-China and anti-communist forces represented by Pompeo.

She said China has repeatedly introduced and explained the real situation in Xinjiang and has released eight white papers on Xinjiang so far. The government of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has held 23 press conferences and indicated that the people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang live and work in peace, unity and harmony with a large number of figures and examples.

In 2019, Xinjiang received more than 200 million domestic and foreign tourists, and more than 1,200 diplomats, journalists and representatives of religious organizations from more than 100 countries visited Xinjiang, she added.

Over the past 60 years, the average life expectancy has increased from 30 to 72 years old in Xinjiang, the languages, traditional cultures, and customs of the ethnic minorities are well protected and passed on, and the people of all ethnic groups fully enjoy the rights to survival and development, she said.

She stressed that China earnestly implemented the UN Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism in Xinjiang, and adopted preventive counter-terrorism and de-radicalization measures in accordance with the law, which effectively guaranteed the safety and stability of Xinjiang and protected the lives of people of all ethnic groups in the region.

China protects the rights of workers in accordance with the law and makes every effort to provide training and to create jobs for the people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang, Hua said, adding that the Chinese government has adopted resolute, scientific and decisive measures to protect the lives and health of people of all ethnic groups including the Uyghur in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pompeo turned a blind eye to facts, reflecting the attempt of some U.S. forces to smear China and the Communist Party of China, interfere in China's internal affairs under the guise of human rights and undermine China's security and stability, she said, adding that the slander and smear cannot affect stability and prosperity in Xinjiang.