NEW YORK - Representatives from several major companies declined to denounce the so-called "genocide" of the Uyghur people in China when directly asked by US Republican Senator Tom Cotton, a report by FOX Business Network (FBN) has said.

During a Congressional-Executive Commission on China hearing held on Tuesday, Paul Lalli, global vice president for human rights for the Coca-Cola Company, and other representatives from Airbnb, Visa, Procter & Gamble and Intel, were asked whether they would agree with the federal government's determinations that China is committing genocide against the Uyghur people, the article released by the FBN reported on Wednesday.

"Most of the representatives said it was not their position to address those issues and deferred to the federal government," said the article.