U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday labeled as "shocking" and "disturbing" reports that China's ruling Communist Party is using forced sterilization, forced abortion and coercive family planning against minority Muslims.

Pompeo highlighted a report about the situation in China's Xinjiang region by German researcher Adrian Zenz published by the Washington-based Jamestown Foundation think tank.

Pompeo, a persistent critic of China, including its treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, said in a statement the findings were consistent with decades of Chinese Communist Party practices "that demonstrate an utter disregard for the sanctity of human life and basic human dignity."