The Chinese government has announced sanctions against US officials, including the Republican senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, in response to US sanctions over Beijing’s treatment of ethnic and religious minorities in Xinjiang province.

China’s ministry of foreign affairs spokeswoman, Hua Chunying, said the retaliatory sanctions would be in place from Monday, but gave no details on what they would entail.

The sanctions apply to Rubio and Cruz, their fellow Republican politicians Samuel Brownback and Chris Smith, and the US Congressional-Executive Commission on China, which monitors and reports on human rights and the rule of law in China.

The announcement is largely symbolic, given that the US officials have little financial or legal exposure in China.