UN rights chief may visit Xinjiang: paper

China has agreed that the UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet can visit Xinjiang after the Beijing Olympics, the South China Morning Post said, citing unidentified sources.

Rights groups have accused China of widescale abuses against Uyghurs and other minority groups in its far western region of Xinjiang, including mass detention, torture and forced labour. The United States has accused China of genocide.

Beijing denies all allegations.

The newspaper said approval for the visit by Bachelet after the Games conclude on Feb 20 was granted on condition that it should be "friendly" and not framed as an investigation.