James Cleverly, the foreign minister, on Thursday stated his support for a group of British legislators who will face sanctions from China in 2021.

Cleverly noted on Twitter that he had meetings with the House of Lords’ Helena Kennedy, Nus Ghani, and Tim Loughton.

The three were sanctioned in 2021 along with a number of others for spreading what China’s foreign ministry said were “lies and disinformation” about alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang.

“China’s sanctioning of UK Parliamentarians is deplorable … They have my full support and I, with them, will continue to call out Chinese atrocities at home and abroad,” Cleverly said.

The renewed condemnation of the sanctions comes days after sources said that he might visit China next month, a trip that could be a sign of headway in attempts to ease tensions relations with the world’s second-largest economy.