The authorities in Brazil have stopped issuing work visas to Chinese workers involved in the construction of the largest Chinese car factory in the country.
The reaction of the Foreign Ministry comes days after revelations were made about inhumane conditions in which 163 Chinese workers brought to build a BYD electric car factory in the northeastern state of Bahia were held and kept in living conditions that local authorities described as "slavery".
Brazil is the largest overseas market for the Chinese manufacturer, and the already troubled factory is the company's largest investment outside China, worth $620 million. Car production was to begin next spring with an initial annual output of 150,000 cars.
The business project is also seen as a symbol of growing Chinese influence in the largest South American country, as well as a result of the close political relations between Brazil and China, which are among the founding countries of the BRICS.