China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has given diplomats from 25 nations including Samoa a tour of a region, where Beijing has been criticised over alleged human rights abuses.

The State-run China Global Television Network (CGTN) in a report on Monday said diplomats from 25 countries including Dominica, Myanmar, Iran, Samoa and Surinam wrapped up a visit to the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region last Friday at the invitation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The diplomats visited the capital of the region Urumqi as well as the Kashgar and Aksu prefectures, where CGTN reported they "witnessed the daily life of Xinjiang people, observed the development of the local economy, and experienced the diverse culture there."

The minister counsellor of the Pakistan Embassy in Beijing, according to the CGTN report, praised the work of the Chinese authorities during the tour of an exhibition on Xinjiang's anti-terrorism and de-radicalization work in Urumqi.

"Chinese authorities have put great efforts in counter-terrorism, and the people of Xinjiang have been provided a safe and secure environment," said Ijaz Ahmad of the Pakistan Embassy.

The CGTN report also quoted the Dominican Ambassador to China, Martin Charles, as saying that were no human rights violations in Xinjiang.

"I have not seen any forced labour, and have not found any human rights violations," said Mr. Charles.

While Samoa's Ambassador to China, Luamanuvae Mariner, reportedly said after the tour that Chinese law "guarantees the freedom of religious belief for all ethnic groups" after he visited the Id Kah Mosque in Kashgar and Xinjiang Islamic Institute in Urumqi. 

He also added that China's development outcomes are encouraging.

The delegation comprising Beijing-based diplomats visited a potable water project built with an investment of over 1.7 billion yuan (about $238 million) in Kashgar's Jiashi County. The project sources water from melted glaciers and snow and has effectively provided clean and safe drinking water to all residents in the county.

"Providing drinking water to 460,000 people everywhere is a fundamental victory everywhere," said Michael Campbell, Nicaraguan Ambassador to China, adding that Nicaragua can learn from China's experience in ensuring people's well-being and fighting poverty.

The Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in China was the subject of a human rights report released on 31 August 2022 by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). The report concluded that there were "serious human rights violations" against the Uyghur and "other predominantly Muslim communities".

The OHCHR report – which was published following a visit by the UN High Commissioner of Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet to the autonomous region in China in May last year – reportedly said “allegations of patterns of torture, or ill-treatment, including forced medical treatment and adverse conditions of detention, are credible, as are allegations of individual incidents of sexual and gender-based violence.”

At the conclusion of the report, the OHCHR surmised that in terms of the extent of the arbitrary detentions against the Uyghur and others, “restrictions and deprivation more generally of fundamental rights, enjoyed individually and collectively, may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity.”