LONDON: Britain on Sunday accused Beijing of "gross, egregious human rights abuses" over its "deeply troubling" treatment of ethnic and religious minorities in China's western Xinjiang region.

Rights groups and experts estimate that more than one million ethnic Uighurs and other Turkic-speaking minorities have been rounded up into a network of internment camps.

British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the reports of forced sterilisations and mass detentions in the predominantly Muslim region required international attention.

"It is clear that there are gross, egregious human rights abuses going on... it is deeply, deeply troubling," he told the BBC. "The reports and the human aspects of it... are reminiscent of something we have not seen for a long, long time, and this is from a leading member of the international community that wants to be taken seriously.

"We want a positive relationship (with China), but we cannot see behaviour like that and not call it out," Raab added.

His comments come as tensions between London and China are rising over a host of issues.

Britain on Tuesday bowed to sustained pressure from Washington and ordered the phased removal of Chinese telecoms giant Huawei from its 5G network despite warnings of retaliation from Beijing. The two sides have also clashed over Beijing's imposition of a controversial national security law in Hong Kong.

The United States earlier this month slapped sanctions on senior Chinese officials, as it demanded an end to the "horrific" abuses against Uighurs and other Turkic Muslims in Xinjiang.